ot  a*  te*%fc»j  ^ 


%  PRINCETON,    N.    J 


%« 


& 


u 


(/ 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2011 


http://www.archive.org/details/victoryoffaithotOOkerj 


THE  VICTORY  OF  FAITH 


AND  OTHER  SERMONS 


BY    THE 

REV.  JOHN   KER,  D.  D. 


NEW-YORK 

ROBERT  CARTER  &  BROTHERS 

530  BROADWAY 


BY  THE  REV.  JOHN  KER,  D.  D. 

1  The  Day  Dawn  and  the  Rain,  and  other  Sermons    .  $2.00 

2  The  Victory  of  Faith 1.75 

3  The  Psalms  in  History  and  Biography       ....  1.00 

4  Scottish  Nationality,  Etc 1.00 

ROBERT  CARTER  &  BROTHERS. 


PREFACE. 

This  volume,  now  given  to  the  public,  cannot  be 
termed  posthumous.  The  sermons  were,  with  only 
one  or  two  exceptions,  selected  by  the  author  himself 
for  publication. 

It  is  now  fully  seventeen  years  since  he  published 
a  volume  of  sermons.  It  has  been  a  matter  of  sur- 
prise to  many,  and  of  regret  to  still  more,  that  he  did 
not  carry  out  the  plan  which  he  was  known  to  have  in 
view,  of  bringing  out  a  second  series.  He  had  abun- 
dant and  varied  stores  at  command,  and  had  had, 
besides,  every  encouragement  to  do  so  from  the  wide 
circulation  and  the  acknowledged  value  of  the  earlier 
volume.  But  the  reasons  for  this  delay  were  sufficient 
to  justify  it  to  himself,  and  to  those  who  knew  him 
most  intimately.  At  the  time  spoken  of,  he  was 
beginning  slowly  to  recover  strength,  after  years  of 
forced  silence.  His  pleasure  in  preaching,  always 
great,  increased  with  returning  health,  and  he  could  not 
refrain  when  he  had  opportunity  from  using  the  living 
voice  for  his  Master.     But  strength  given  forth  in  this 


VI  PKEFACE. 

way  necessitated  rest  at  intervals,  and  so  the  "  letter  to 
be  written  with  his  own  hand  "  was  always  delayed. 

With  all  this,  however,  and  with  increasing  weakness 
and  college  work,  he  rewrote  sermons  from  time  to 
time  in  the  hope  of  ultimately  publishing  them ;  and 
since  his  death,  which  occurred  on  October  4th,  1886, 
his  friends  have  thought  they  would  be  only  carrying 
out  his  own  intention  by  issuing  a  selection  from  these, 
adding  two  or  three  which  had  already  appeared  in 
print.  With  one  or  two  exceptions  the  sermons  in 
this  volume  have  been  preached.  A  peculiar  interest 
is  attached  to  the  17th  (The  Heavenly  Home),  as  it 
formed  the  substance  of  an  address  delivered  about  two 
months  before  his  death,  in  a  friend's  house  in  the 
Highlands.  It  was  the  last  time  he  was  to  speak  on  a 
theme  which,  more  than  most,  drew  out  the  powers  of 
his  heart  and  imagination,  and  it  is  striking  that  in 
this,  as  in  many  similar  cases,  the  choice  of  the  last 
subject  for  discourse  should  indicate  the  growing 
attractiveness  of  heaven,  and  meetness  for  it. 

Those  of  the  sermons  which  the  author  had  definitely 
laid  aside  for  publication  show  that,  as  in  the  former 
series,  he  aimed  at  a  variety  of  topics,  which  would 
furnish  the  doubting,  the  afflicted,  the  old,  the  young, 
the  thoughtful  and  the  heedless,  with  their  portion  of 
meat  in  due  season.  But  if  the  reader  fail  to  trace  the 
order  of  arrangement,  he  will  find  sufficient  unity  of 
thought  and  feeling  in  the  savour  of  Christ  which  per- 
vades the  sermons — a  unity  which  at  the  same  time 
supplies  that  nutriment  by   which  "  all  the  body  by 


PREFACE.  Vll 

joints  and  bands  having  nourishment  ministered,  and 
knit  together,  increaseth  with  the  increase  of  God." 

The  proofs  have  been  corrected  and  carefully  re- 
vised by  the  Eev.  Joseph  Leckie,  D.D.,  of  Ibrox 
U.P.  Church,  Glasgow,  an  old  and  intimate  friend  of 
the  author,  and  the  Eev.  A.  E.  MacEwen,  B.D.  Balliol 
College,  of  Anderston  U.P.  Church,  Glasgow,  a  valued 
friend  and  attached  pupil.  To  them  the  relatives  of 
the  deceased  render  sincere  and  heartfelt  thanks  for 
their  loving  and  painstaking  labour  in  this  and  in  other 
efforts  to  preserve  his  memory. 


The  Hermitage,  Murrayfield, 
Edinburgh,  December  1886. 


CONTENTS. 


L 

THE  STRUGGLE  AND  VICTORY  OF  FAITH. 

PAGE 

'  And  straightway  the  father  of  the  child  cried  out,  and  said  with 
tears,  Lord,  I  believe  ;  help  Thou  mine  unbelief."— Mark  ix.  24,       1 

II. 
PRAYER  FOR  A  COMPLETE  LIFE,  AND  ITS  PLEA. 

'I  said,  0  rny  God,  take  me  not  away  in  the  midst  of  my  days  :  thy 
years  are  throughout  all  generations."— Psalm  cii.  24,         .        .     18 

III. 

THE  POWER  OF  CHRIST'S  ENDLESS  LIFE. 

' '  Another  priest,  who  is  made  .  .  .  after  the  power  of  an  endless 
life."— Heb.  vn.  16, 34 

IV. 

INSTABILITY :   SOME  OF  ITS  CHARACTERISTICS  AND 
CORRECTIVES. 

(FOR  YOUNG  MEN.) 

"Unstable  as  water,  thou  shalt  not  excel."— Gen.  xlix.  4,        .        .49 


X  CONTENTS. 

V. 

BARZILLAI  THE  GILEADITE. 

(FOR  THE  AGED.) 

PAGE 

2  Sam.  xix.  31-40.  Read  also  2  Sam.  xvii.  27-29 ;  1  Kings  ii.  7 ; 
Jer.  xli.  17 ;  Ezra  ii.  61, 67 

VI. 

TWO  MARVELS. 

"  When  Jesus  heard  it,  He  marvelled,  and  said  to  them  that  followed, 
Verily  I  say  unto  you,  I  have  not  found  so  great  faith,  no,  not  in 
Israel."— Matt.  viii.  10. 

"  And  He  marvelled  because  of  their  unbelief." — Mark  vi.  6,    .        .    83 

VII. 
THE  FIRST  HOME  MISSION. 

'Andrew  first  findeth  his  own  brother  Simon,  and  saith  unto  him, 
We  have  found  the  Messias,  which  is,  being  interpreted,  the 
Christ.    And  he  brought  him  to  Jesus."— John  i.  41,  42,    .        .  100 

VIII. 

SPIRITUAL  JUDGMENT  :    ITS  RANGE,   INDEPENDENCE, 

AND  GUIDANCE. 

"  But  he  that  is  spiritual  judgeth  all  things,  yet  he  himself  is  judged 
of  no  man."— 1  Cor.  ii.  15, 115 

IX. 
HAD  AD  THE  EDOMITE. 
(LOVE  OF  COUNTRY.) 

' '  Then  Pharaoh  said  unto  him,  But  what  hast  thou  lacked  with  me, 
that,  behold,  thou  seekest  to  go  to  thine  own  country  ?  And 
he  answered,  Nothing  :  Howbeit  let  me  go  in  any  wise." — 
1  Kings  xi.  14-22, 132 


CONTENTS.  XI 

X. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  USES  OF  LEISURE. 

PAOF. 

"  And  He  said  unto  them,  Come  ye  yourselses  apart  irito  a  desert 
place,  and  rest  awhile."— Mark  vi.  31, 146 

XL 

THE  ARK  TAKEN  AND  RETAKEN. 

(LESSONS  FROM  AN  OLD  DEFEAT  AND  VICTORY.) 

"And  the  Philistines  fought,  and  Israel  was  smitten,  and  they  fled 
every  man  into  his  tent ;  and  there  was  a  very  great  slaughter ; 
for  there  fell  of  Israel  thirty  thousand  footmen.  And  the  ark  of 
God  was  taken  ;  and  the  two  sons  of  Eli,  Hophni  and  Phinehas, 
were  slain."— 1  Sam.  iv.  10,  11. 

"And  when  the  men  of  Ashdod  saw  that  it  was  so,  they  said,  The  ark 
of  the  God  of  Israel  shall  not  abide  with  us  :  for  his  hand  is  sore 
upon  us,  and  upon  Dagon  our  god."— 1  Sam.  v.  7. 

"  So  David  and  all  the  house  of  Israel  brought  up  the  ark  of  the 
Lord  with  shouting,  and  with  the  sound  of  the  trumpet."— 
2  Sam.  vi.  15 162 

xn. 

THE  CRY  OF  THE  ORPHANED  HEART. 

(FOR  A  COMMUNION.) 

"Doubtless  Thou  art  our  Father."— Isaiah  lxiii.  16,      .       .        .176 

XIII. 

THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  BIBLE. 
"  Thy  word  is  true  from  the  beginning.  "—Psalm  cxix.  160,    .        .    186 

XIV. 
THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN. 

"  Then  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  her,  0  woman,  great  is  thy 
faith :  be  it  unto  thee  even  as  thou  wilt."— Matt.  xv.  28,         .    200 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

XV. 
THE  LORD'S  QUESTION  TO  MARY. 

PAGE 

"Jesus  saith  unto  her,  Woman,  why  weepest  thou?  whom  seekest 
thou?"— John  xx.  15, 216 

XVI. 

THE  BEST  GIFTS  TO  BE  COVETED, 
"But  covet  earnestly  the  best  gifts."— 1  Cor.  xii.  31,      .        .        .     233 

XVII. 
THE  HEAVENLY  HOME. 

"In  my  Father's  house  are  many  mansions." — John  xiv.  2,     .        .     247 

XVIII. 

THE  EVENING  PRAYER  OF  CHRIST'S  FRIENDS. 

(FOR  A  COMMUNION.) 

"  Abide  with  us  :  for  it  is  toward  evening,  and  the  day  is  far  spent." 
—Luke  xxiv.  29, .        .        .264 

XIX. 

CHRIST  ABSENT  AND  PRESENT. 

(FOR  A  COMMUNION.) 

"  Me  ye  have  not  always."— John  xii.  8. 

"Lo,  I  am  with  you  al way.  "—Matt,  xx viii.  20,     .        .        .        .281 

XX. 

LIFE  ON  THE  HUMAN  SIDE  AND  THE  DIVINE. 

"Thou  tellest  my  wanderings  :  put  Thou  my  tears  into  thy  bottle  : 

are  they  not  in  thy  book  ?  "—Psalm  lvi.  8,        .        .         .         .290 


CONTENTS.  xiii 

XXI. 

TROUBLE  AT  THE  THOUGHT  OF  GOD. 

PAGE 

:  I  remembered  God,  and  was  troubled."— Psm,m  lxxvii.  3,    .        .     305 

XXII. 

THINGS  PASSING  AND  THINGS  PERMANENT. 

'■  And  this  word.  Yet  once  more,  signifieth  the  removing  of  those 
things  that  are  shaken,  as  of  things  that  are  made,  that  those 
things  which  cannot  be  shaken  may  remain." — Heb.  xii.  27,     .     320 

XXIII. 
THE  BETTER  RESURRECTION. 

Others  were  tortured,  not  accepting  deliverance  ;  that  they  might 
obtain  a  better  resurrection. " — Heb.  xi.  35,       ...        .     336 

XXIV. 
THE  COMPLAINT  FOR  FRUSTRATED  AIMS. 

Then  I  said,  I  have  laboured  in  vain,  I  have  spent  my  strength  for 
nought,  and  in  vain  :  yet  surely  my  judgment  is  with  the  Lord, 
and  my  work  with  my  God." — Isa.  XLix.  4,        ,        .        ,         .     353 


THE   STRUGGLE  AND  VICTORY  OE  EAITH. 

"  And  straightway  the  father  of  the  child  cried  out,  and  said  with 
tears,  Lord,  I  believe  ;  help  Thou  mine  unbelief'' — Map>k  ix.  2-4. 

The  greatest  of  Italian  painters  has  taken  this  narrative 
for  the  subject  of  the  last  and  greatest  of  his  paintings. 
It  was  his  dying  legacy  to  his  art  and  to  the  world.  His 
hand  was  unable  to  give  it  the  final  touch,  and  it  was 
carried  in  procession  before  him  to  his  grave  in  the 
Pantheon  at  Rome.  He  has  been  charged  with  a  viola- 
tion of  the  rules  of  art  because  the  Mount  of  Transfigura- 
tion almost  disappears,  and  he  brings  the  summit  with 
Christ's  glory  close  to  the  base,  where  the  father  is  im- 
ploring the  disciples  to  heal  his  child.  And  this  is  so  far 
true.  He  wishes  to  enclose  Christ  and  man  in  one  scene 
— Christ  in  his  divine  power  and  mercy,  and  man  in  his 
misery — and  so  he  effaces  the  distance,  and  brings  them 
into  contact,  making  the  material  law  yield  to  the  neces- 
sities of  the  spiritual  world. 

For  indeed  the  Transfiguration  gives  us  a  view  of  the 
entire  mission  and  work  of  Christ.  We  see  Him  above 
the  world,  but  not  separated  from  it,  surrounded  by  the 
prophets  of  the  Old  Testament  and  the  apostles  of  the 
New,  owned  by  God  as  his  beloved  Son,  and  looking 
forward  to  the  death  which  crowns  his  saving  work ; 
while  on  the  earth  below  there  is  the  demon-stricken  child 
with  the  anxious  father — the  tokens  of  the  dreadful  power 
and  ravage  of  sin,  where  the  prince  of  Evil  is,  as  it  were, 

A 


2  THE  STRUGGLE  AND  VICTORY  OF  FAITH. 

visibly  challenging  the  Son  of  God  to  a  contest  for  the 
possession  of  the  world.  And  this  history  is  being 
repeated  all  through  time  till  Christ  shall  come  again 
without  sin  unto  salvation.  We  have  around  us  human 
sin  and  misery  in  the  most  varied  forms,  but  we  have  also 
the  strength  and  grace  of  Christ  ready  to  come  down,  as  of 
old,  for  help  and  healing ;  not  as  here,  first  the  body  and 
then  the  soul,  but  by  a  more  divine  order,  first  the  soul  and 
then  the  body,  till  at  last  body  and  soul  are  both  saved 
in  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  And  we  have  to  add  this 
feature,  that  we  have  still  within  us  the  same  heart  of 
doubt.  This  man's  struggle,  is  it  not  a  picture  of  the 
faith  and  unbelief  which  are  so  often  in  conflict  in  our 
nature  1  Yet,  if  we  had  this  man's  earnestness,  and  if  we 
made  his  prayer  our  own,  we  should  bring  down  a  grander 
presence  and  a  mightier  power  than  did  the  genius  of  the 
artist,  not  the  image  of  Christ  but  the  living  Lord  him- 
self, to  give  the  victory  to  faith — "  Lord,  we  believe  ;  help 
Thou  our  unbelief."  Let  us  seek  to  take  this  prayer  as  a 
common  human  experience,  or,  at  least,  an  experience  of 
all  earnest-minded  men. 

I.  We  say,  then,  that  we  may  learn  here,  first,  tha,t  faith 
and  unbelief  are  often  found  in  the  same  heart.  The  human 
heart,  small  as  it  is,  has  a  wonderful  power  of  lodging 
different  inhabitants,  and  lodging  them  at  the  same  time. 
It  admits  fear  and  hope,  jealousy  and  love,  the  lowest  and 
most  hateful  passions  and  near  to  them  the  reproachful 
thoughts  which  point  us  up,  in  rebuke,  to  things  the  most 
pure  and  noble.  The  picture  which  Milton  gives  of  our  first 
mother  sleeping  in  the  garden  is  true  of  us.  There  is  the 
toad-like  spirit  whispering  evil  dreams  into  the  heart,  and 
the  angel  is  standing  by  to  keep  watch  on  the  tempter. 
Every  day  we  feel  that  there  is  within  us  what  the  Bible 


THE  STRUGGLE  AND  VICTORY  OF  FAITH.  3 

calls  "  the  multitude  of  our  thoughts."  These  contrarieties 
are  never  more  marked  than  when  the  heart  lodges,  as  it 
often  does,  faith  and  unbelief.  Never  probably  does  un- 
belief take  the  whole  field  to  itself  at  all  times.  A  man 
can  rarely,  if  ever,  reduce  himself  to  a  fixed  aud  blank 
denial  of  all  that  lies  beyond  his  senses.  The  most 
resolute  atheist,  who  thinks  he  has  reasoned  himself 
into  the  conviction  that  matter  is  the  sum  and  substance 
of  the  universe,  that  the  soul  is  merely  a  focus  of  forces 
cheating  itself  with  a  feeling  of  personality,  that  God  is 
only  man's  magnified  image  in  the  sky,  and  eternal  life  an 
egotistic  fancy,  even  he  has  at  times  his  misgivings,  or  his 
hopes  (which  shall  we  call  them  ?)  that  there  may  be  more 
than  this.  When  some  exquisite  scene  in  nature  makes 
his  heart  leap  up  in  answer  to  a  supreme  beauty,  or  when 
some  act  of  unselfish  devotion,  pouring  out  its  heart's 
blood  for  what  is  dearer  than  life,  thrills  his  spirit,  he  feels 
for  the  moment  as  if  the  sky  held  something  beyond  infinite 
vacancy,  and  as  if  man  had  something  more  in  him  than 
refined  clay.  Or  take  even  the  man  who  has  not  merely 
said  "  There  is  no  God/'  but  who  has  said  it  with  his  heart, 
who  has  brought  his  life  down  to  his  creed,  and  wrapped 
it  and  steeped  it  in  the  world  of  sense  till  atheism  is  his 
comfort,  and  eternity  his  terror ;  are  there  not  moments 
in  the  seasons  of  the  night,  and  in  the  awakenings  of  con- 
science, when  God  draws  aside  the  curtain,  and  looks  in 
with  the  word,  "  Thou  fool !  " — when  a  past  he  thought 
dead  starts  up  and  points  to  judgment,  "  I  will  meet  thee 
there"  1  Atheism,  whether  it  be  speculative  or  practical, 
can  never  close  the  door  and  windows  so  fast  but  that  a 
lightning  flash  may  break  through  the  chinks,  and  make 
the  man  ask,  "  May  there  not  be  something  beyond  the 
four  walls  of  this  chamber  of  my  thoughts  1 " 

And  again,  on  the  other  hand,  take  the  man  who  has  the 


-i  THE  STBTJGGLE  AND  VICTORY  OF  FAITH. 

strongest  conviction  that  there  is  a  soul  and  a  God  and  a 
life  beyond  death,  to  whom  a  higher  existence  is  not  a 
thing  of  reasoning  merely,  but  a  thing  of  experience,  who 
lives  as  seeing  Him  who  is  invisible,  who  has  beheld  from 
a  Pisgah  summit  the  spires  of  the  heavenly  city,  and  heard 
the  music  of  its  songs,  till  the  light  and  harmony  have 
entered  his  spirit,  bringing  "joy  unspeakable  and  full  of 
glory  " — is  he,  I  ask.  always  free  from  doubt  ?  There  are 
moments  when  the  strange  portents  of  evil  come  to  torment 
him,  rising  from  within,  or  shot  in  from  without,  and  the 
thought  is  suggested,  '  What  if  all  I  adore  and  look  for  be 
ion  of  the  night  ]  what  if  these  glorious  hopes  are  but 
flashing  auroras  on  the  sky,  and  if  no  great  morning  dawn 
is  ever  to  be  spread  upon  the  mountains  I '  And  so  the 
strongest  faith  may  have  its  moment  of  doubt.  In  its 
clearest  and  keenest  vision  a  film  will  pass  over  it  although 
it  is  looking  at  the  sun,  may  we  not  say  ;  it  is  looking 

at  the  sun  ]  The  two  worlds  of  faith  and  unbelief  are  close 
to  the  soul  of  man.  When  he  is  in  the  dark,  gleams  from 
the  light  will  shoot  in  as  if  to  allure  him,  and  when  he  is 
in  the  light,  vapours  from  the  dark  will  roll  in  to  perplex 
and  tempt  him.  Every  heart  knows  something  of  both, 
and  chooses  in  the  end  to  which  of  the  worlds  it  will 
open  the  abiding  entrance.     Is  it  not  so  ! 

But  it  may  be  that  speculative  doubts  like  these  are  not 
your  particular  form  of  trial.  You  have  no  misgivings, 
or  very  seldom,  about  God  and  the  soul  and  eternit^y; 
these  things  are  borne  in  upon  you  as  sure  realities  j  they 
come  with  a  weight  and  pressure  from  which  you  cannot 
escape  if  you  would.  But,  all  the  more,  painful  doubts 
visit  you  of  another  kind,  doubts  of  your  personal  share  in 
the  happiness  these  truths  should  bring.  There  are  times 
when  a  man  is  enabled  to  lay  hold  with  confidence  of  God 
....  He  is  made  known  in  Christ,  when  he  can  grasp  with 


THE  STRUGGLE  AHB  VICTORY  OF  FAITH. 

strong  assurance  the  promise  of  the  forgiveness  of  sin  and 
life  eternal,  and  when  he  can  look  up  and  say,  ■'  My 
I  know  that  all  things  work  together  for  good  to  them 
that  love  Thee,  and  I  feel  that  Thou  hast  shed  abroad 
the  beginning  of  this  love  in  my  heart.'  But  then  some 
heavy  wave  of  trial  will  break  over  his  head,  and  shake 
his  anchor-hold ;  or  some  outbreak  of  temptation  from 
his  own  heart  will  startle  him,  as  if  a  serpent  he  thought 
dead  were  warmed  into  life  again,  till  the  suggestion 
comes,  What  if  all  my  Christian  hope  be  a  fancy,  and  if  I 
have  never  known  in  truth  the  grace  of  God  our  Saviour  ? 
These  are  agonising  thoughts  to  some  Christians,  and  there 
are  times  of  great  searching  of  heart  about  them.  The 
mountain  of  their  own  faith  in  the  Eternal  stands  strong. 
but  their  comfort  in  it  flits  across  like  sunshine  and  shadow 
on  a  changeful  day.  So,  we  say,  faith  and  unbelief  may 
be  found  in  some  form  in  every  soul  of  man ;  there  is  indeed 
no  Christian  out  of  heaven  entirely  safe  from  some  seasons 
of  depression,  or  out  of  the  range  of  the  prayer  of  this 
man,  "Lord,  I  believe;  help  Thou  mine  unbelief." 

II.  The  second  thing  we  may  learn  is  that  wh 
and  unbelief  meet  in  an  earnest  heart  there  will  I  Yon 

see  the  conflict  in  the  heart  of  this  father.  He  knew  that 
the  life  of  his  child  was  dependent  on  his  appeal,  and  his 
whole  nature  is  stirred  by  the  struggle.  And  when  a  man 
realises  what  the  Bible  calls  "  the  powers  of  the  world  to 
come,"  he  finds  within  himself,  as  it  were,  "  the  company 
of  two  armies."  There  are  passions  in  the  human  breast 
which,  although  wide  apart  in  character,  yet  may  come 
to  terms.  A  man  may  reconcile  over-vaulting  ambition 
with  utter  meanness  of  soul ;  he  may  have  the  avarice  of 
a  miser  and  the  vice  of  a  profligate ;  he  may  hunger  for 
universal  learning,   and  hold    out   his   Land   for  a  bribe. 


6  THE  STRUGGLE  AND  VICTORY  OF  FAITH. 

'■  The  wisest,  brightest,  meanest  of  mankind,"  is  the 
character  given  by  one  of  our  poets  to  one  of  our  greatest 
philosophers.  Alexander,  Caesar,  Marlborough,  Napoleon, 
are  names  which  remind  us  that  what  men  call  glory  may 
live  quietly  in  the  same  heart  with  pettiness,  or  even  base- 
ness. But  here  are  two  things,  faith  and  unbelief,  which  can 
never  come  to  a  settled  agreement  if  men  are  in  earnest,  and 
will  seek  to  understand  what  the  words  mean.  Let  us  try 
to  think  what  the  question  really  is.  It  is  not  one  of  specu- 
lative philosophy,  or  of  some  scientific  theory  about  stars 
overhead  or  strata  underfoot,  interesting  in  its  own  way,  but 
without  effect  on  the  life  or  death,  on  the  hopes  or  fears  of 
any  one  of  us.  The  question  raised  by  faith  and  unbelief 
not  only  touches  every  human  being,  if  he  will  think  of  it, 
but  presses  upon  his  whole  nature,  and  penetrates  it,  and 
pervades  it  through  and  through,  with  Unutterable  moment. 
According  as  we  go  to  the  one  side  or  the  other,  we  shall 
think  differently  of  ourselves  and  of  every  fellow-man, 
differently  of  the  world  and  of  everything  in  it,  of  every 
child,  and  what  it  may  become,  of  every  leaf  and  blossom, 
and  the  light  in  which  we  are  to  regard  it.  It  is  the 
question,  What  purpose  does  the  world  aim  at  ?  or  can  we 
speak  of  any  purpose  1  Is  there  an  intelligent  Maker  of 
the  universe,  who  has  an  end  in  view  worthy  of  it  and  of 
Himself;  or  is  all  that  we  see  a  thing  of  chance  or  of  fate — a 
ship  on  a  shoreless  ocean,  drifting  no  one  knows  whence  or 
whither,  if  we  can  speak  of  drift  where  there  is  no  direc- 
tion, no  compass,  no  star  1  Is  this  soul  of  mine  an  undy- 
ing reality,  or  is  it  no  more  than  a  property  of  my  body, 
doomed  to  perish  as  the  atoms  fall  asunder,  a  poor  ignis 
fatuus,  flitting  across  the  night  morass  which  is  its  birth- 
place and  its  grave  1  The  dearest  friends  with  whom  soul 
is  knit  to  soul,  are  we  to  bid  them  an  everlasting  farewell 
when  death  comes  1     And  the  most  glorious  of  all  concep- 


THE  STRUGGLE  AND  VICTORY  OF  FAITH.  7 

ions,  perfect  truth  and  righteousness  and  purity,  are  we 
never  to  behold  their  triumph,  if  triumph  they  shall  ever 
have  1  These  are  questions  compared  with  which  all 
others  sink  into  insignificance,  and  the  struggle  in  this 
father's  heart  is  but  a  token  of  the  war,  on  a  wider  and 
more  momentous  field,  which  is  waged  in  the  soul  of  him 
who  realises  what  is  meant  by  faith  and  unbelief. 

I  can  imagine,  indeed,  that  in  this  strange  world,  where 
evil  has  brought  in  so  much  bewilderment,  there  may  be 
earnest  men  who  despair  at  times  of  reaching  certainty. 
They  become  weary  of  perplexing  arguments,  and  turn 
the  strained  thought  to  smaller  but,  as  they  think,  surer 
issues ;  and  they  may  call  this  peace,  and  almost  feel,  for 
a  time,  as  if  it  were  so.  You  have  probably  seen  the  pic- 
ture of  a  solitary  shipwrecked  sailor  on  a  raft  in  mid-ocean, 
shading  his  aching  eyes  with  his  hand,  and  searching  the 
horizon  for  the  point  of  a  sail,  or  for  the  dim  line  of  land 
rising  above  the  waste  of  waters.  I  can  imagine,  too,  the 
weary  eye,  blinded  with  the  glare,  or  with  its  own  moisture, 
turning  for  relief  to  the  little  objects  round  him,  to  the 
structure  of  his  raft,  to  the  ripple  of  the  water  on  its  side,  or 
the  scream  of  the  sea-bird  as  it  circles  overhead.  But  when 
his  far-off  home  rises  once  more  to  his  thought,  when  the 
vision  of  his  father  or  his  child  flashes  on  his  heart,  his  eye 
will  once  more  sweep  the  wide  sea  with  the  question,  '  Shall 
I  never  see  them  again,  and  sink  in  this  gulf  alone  1 ' 

And  so  there  may  come  times  to  a  man,  and  times  to 
the  world,  when  a  kind  of  apathy  about  these  higher 
questions  of  God  and  the  soul  seems  to  dull  the  earnestness 
of  the  struggle,  when  the  furniture  of  the  raft  on  which 
men  are  floating  appears  the  chief  concernment ;  but  when 
the  soul  returns  to  itself,  and  feels  the  need  of  a  Father, 
the  longing  for  a  home,  the  horror  of  engulfment  in  a  sea 
which  never  restores  its  dead,  then  earnestness  will  revive, 


8  Till-:  STRUGGLE  AND  VICTORY  OF  FAITH. 

and  the  battle  of  faith  be  again  renewed.  Whatever  be 
the  case  with  some  for  a  time,  those  who  have  realised  the 
greatness  of  the  issue  will  feel  that  there  can  be  "  no  dis- 
charge in  this  war." 

III.  We  may  learn,  further,  to  foretell  how  the  war  will  go, 
by  the  side  which  a  man's  heart  takes.  If  you  look  at  the 
prayer  of  this  man  you  will  see  that,  though  it  is  very 
brief,  you  can  judge  from  it  how  the  conflict  is  to  end. 
The  man  puts  himself  on  the  side  cf  faith ;  he  throws  the 
weight  of  his  personality  into  this  scale.  He  says,  "  Lord, 
I  believe."  He  does  not  mean  that  the  unbelief  is  not  his 
also;  no,  it  belongs  to  him  with  its  guilt  and  loss  and 
pain,  but  he  looks  on  it  as  a  stranger  and  enemy  from 
which  he  seeks  to  be  delivered.  '  I,  myself,'  he  says, 
'  am  on  the  side  of  faith  ;  my  deepest  nature  trusts  and 
hopes  and  cries  to  God  ;  Lord,  /  believe ;  help  Thou  mine 
unbelief.'  The  man  who  can  say  this  with  a  true  heart 
is  within  sight  of  victory.  And  in  these  days  of  doubt 
and  denial  we  can  almost  predict  how  some  men  will 
decide.  External  reasons  and  arguments  are  necessary. 
They  guide  us  to  the  place  where  we  make  trial  of  truth 
in  our  own  experience,  and  attain  to  full  conviction.  We 
could  not  reach  faith  against  these  reasons ;  and  we  could 
scarcely  reach  it  without  them ;  but  after  the  help  of  God's 
Spirit,  of  which  we  do  not  here  speak,  our  faith  is  deter- 
mined by  the  attitude  and  inmost  bent  of  the  soul  itself. 
When  a  ship  is  making  for  the  harbour,  there  is  a  set  in 
the  tide  which  may  carry  it  straight  for  the  entrance,  or  to 
the  treacherous  quicksands,  or  to  the  boiling  surf.  And 
there  is  such  a  set  of  the  tide  in  a  man's  own  heart,  only 
that  here  it  is  not  without  but  within  him  ;  it  is  acted  on 
by  his  will,  and  therefore  he  is  responsible  for  it.  A  man 
cannot  use  his  will  directly  so  as  to  cause  himself  to  believe 


THE  STRUGGLE  AND  VICTORY  OF  FAITH.  9 

or  not  to  believe,  but  he  can  use  it,  in  the  language  of  the 
Bible,  in  those  u  things  which  accompany  salvation."  We 
cannot  reverse  the  tide,  but  we  can  employ  the  sails  and 
helm,  so  as  to  act  upon  it.  How,  then,  may  we  know 
whether  the  heart  is  tending  to  the  side  of  faith  %  One 
token  is,  that  there  should  be  a  sense  of  reverence  propor- 
tioned to  the  momentous  character  of  the  issues.  Easy 
indifference,  light  flippancy,  superficial  glances  cast  at  little 
incidents  and  small  angles  of  the  subject,  can  never  fit  a 
man  for  judging  the  questions  of  faith  and  unbelief.  The 
weight  of  the  soul  must  be  felt  if  we  are  to  decide  rightly 
on  its  interests.  It  must  be  to  us  what  this  man's  son 
was  to  him,  an  object  of  deep  concern.  Another  token  of 
this  set  of  the  heart  is  that  there  should  be  some  sense  of 
need,  a  feeling  that  the  soul  is  not  sufficient  for  its  own 
guidance  and  happiness  without  help — a  pitying,  tender 
care  for  our  soul  that  should  lead  us  to  look  out,  and  up, 
and  cry  for  aid.  And  still  another  token  is  that  there 
should  be  some  sense  of  sinfulness,  a  conviction  of  the 
gulf  between  what  we  should  be  and  what  we  are. 
"  They  that  be  whole,"  the  Saviour  has  said,  "  need  not  a 
physician,  but  they  that  are  sick."  The  moral  disorder 
that  is  around  and  within  us  must  make  itself  felt  by 
thoughtful  men,  and  it  is  not  asking  too  much  that  we 
should  do  for  our  soul  what  this  man  did  for  his  suffering 
child — that  we  should  seek  with  earnestness  for  some 
means  of  cure.  Reverence,  humility,  and  a  sense  of  sin, 
these  are  some  of  the  tokens  by  which  we  may  discover 
the  bent  of  the  heart  toward  faith.  In  these  the  man  is 
already  beginning  to  say,  "  Lord,  I  believe."  It  may  be 
said  that  in  this  we  are  prejudging  the  question,  and  brib- 
ing the  reason.  But  the  answer  is,  that  while  reason  has 
its  own  part  to  perform,  it  must  approach  it  in  the  right 
spirit,  and  it  must  have  before  it  all  the  facts  of  the  case. 


10  THE  STRUGGLE  AND  VICTORY  OF  FAITH. 

It  advances  to  science  by  carefully  studying  the  nature  of 
the  external  world ;  and  it  can  advance  to  faith  only  by  a 
humble  and  reverent  study  of  man's  inner  nature,  by  lis- 
tening to  the  heart  and  spirit  when  they  give  their  deepest 
utterances.  The  way  to  God  begins  in  what  is  most  pro- 
found in  our  own  souls,  and  when  we  have  been  led  by 
God's  own  hand  to  make  discoveries  of  our  weakness  and 
want  and  sin,  we  learn  to  say,  "  Out  of  the  depths  have  I 
cried  unto  Thee,  0  Lord."  "When  we  see  a  man  dealing 
with  the  questions  of  faith  and  unbelief  in  this  spirit,  we 
can  tell  how  the  war  will  go. 

And  yet,  with  all  this,  we  would  not  forget  that  there 
are  some  who  do  not  find  at  once  the  faith  which  they  are 
seeking.  They  have  been  inquiring  earnestly  and  rever- 
ently ;  but  they  cannot  grasp  as  they  would  wish  the  con- 
viction that  there  is  a  God  and  a  soul  and  an  eternal 
world.  There  must  be  some  path  for  such  to  walk  in,  and 
I  think  it  is  here.  If  you  cannot  yet  say,  '  I  believe  in 
God  and  in  eternal  life,'  yet  there  are  things  in  which  you 
do  believe.  There  is  truth,  and  righteousness,  and  loving- 
kindness.  These  things  you  reverence  and  believe  in,  else 
you  are  dark  indeed.  You  may  not  be  able  to  say,  '  I 
practise  them,'  but  you  can  surely  say  '  I  have  faith  in 
them.'  Begin  truly  the  practice  of  that  in  which  you 
believe,  and  you  will  grow  from  faith  to  faith.  Live  as  if 
there  were  a  God,  and  you  will  come  to  know  that  there  is 
a  God.  "  If  any  man  will  do  his  will,"  even  though  he 
may  be  uncertain  for  a  time  that  it  is  his,  he  shall  come 
"  to  know  the  doctrine  that  it  is  of  God." 

But  it  may  be,  as  already  said,  that  your  struggle  is  not 
so  much  to  be  sure  of  these  primary  truths  as  to  be  assured 
of  your  own  individual  interest  in  them.  Now,  here  again 
we  may  know  how  the  war  will  go  by  the  side  the  heart 
takes.     If  men  wish  with  all  their  heart  to  be  Christians, 


THE  STRUGGLE  AND  VICTORY  OF  FAITH.  1 1 

tliey  have  the  life  of  Christianity  already  begun.  It  is 
true  they  may  not  see  this,  and  they  would  be  afraid  to 
say  it.  What  is  wanted  is  the  power  to  realise  it.  Put, 
then,  the  desire  to  be  a  Christian  into  the  first  duty  which 
falls  to  you,  and  put  it  into  duty  after  duty,  quietly  and 
perse veringly,  with  the  help  of  God.  This  is  what  the 
Bible  calls  "  living  a  life  of  faith,"  and  it  is  by  living  that 
we  feel  sure  we  are  in  life.  We  reach  the  conviction  that 
we  are  Christians,  not  indeed  by  the  merit  of  our  Chris- 
tian life,  but  by  the  experience  of  it.  In  the  degree  in 
which  the  Spirit  of  Christ  rises  up  and  lives  in  us,  we  know 
that  we  belong  to  Him.  "  Then  shall  we  know  if  we 
follow  on  to  know  the  Lord  :  his  going  forth  is  prepared 
as  the  morning." 

IV.  The  last  truth,  therefore,  to  be  learned  from  this 
history  is  that  the  way  to  be  sure  of  the  victory  of  faith  is  to  call 
in  the  help  of  Christ.  You  see  what  the  appeal  to  Christ  did 
for  this  man — how  it  settled  the  wavering  war,  and  gave  him 
the  desire  of  his  heart ;  and  we  cannot,  perhaps,  illustrate 
this  part  of  the  subject  better  than  by  looking  at  his  conduct, 
that  we  may  benefit  by  his  example.  We  may  learn,  then, 
from  him  to  go  straight  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself. 
The  disciples,  no  doubt,  did  their  best,  and  they  were  of 
service  in  their  own  way.  When  they  could  not  cast  out 
the  evil  spirit  themselves,  they  Could  save  the  man  from 
sinking  into  utter  despair ;  they  could  bid  him  be  patient 
and  hopeful,  and  could  point  up  the  mountain  to  the  Lord, 
who  was  about  to  descend  and  do  what  was  beyond  their 
power.  But  when  the  Lord  himself  appears,  the  father 
must  pass  through  the  disciples  to  their  Master — "  I  spake 
to  thy  disciples  that  they  should  cast  him  out ;  and  they 
could  not."  Now,  it  may  be  that  you  have  been  seeking 
help  from  others  than  Christ  himself.     His  disciples  first 


12  THE  STRUGGLE  AND  VICTORY  OF  FAITH. 

met  your  view,  and  you  did  not  see  Him ;  you  only  heard 
of  Him  from  them,  but  you  did  not  come  into  personal 
contact  with  Him.  You  may  have  applied  to  the  Church, 
but  it  has  no  salvation  in  its  own  hand ;  at  best  it  could 
only  point  you  to  Christ.  You  may  have  had  recourse  to 
the  law  and  its  precepts.  They  are  "  holy  and  just  and 
good;"  but  they  have  no  blessing  for  a  sinner,  and  the 
law  could  only  be  your  schoolmaster  to  briug  you  to  Christ. 
You  may  have  turned  your  steps  to  the  doctrines  of  the 
Bible.  They  are  excellent ;  but  without  Christ  himself  they 
are  merely  words ;  they  are  of  value  only  in  as  far  as  they 
present  Him.  And  so  from  disciple  to  disciple  you  may 
go,  to  find  that  you  must  press  into  the  presence  of  the 
Lord  Jesus — "  Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go  1  Thou  hast  the 
words  of  eternal  life."  Christ  is  saying  to  churches,  to 
precepts,  to  doctrines,  to  all  ordinances  and  means  of  grace, 
"  Bring  him  unto  Me  ;  "  and  we  shall  find  full  deliverance 
and  rest  only  when  we  come  to  the  Saviour  himself,  and  feel 
ourselves  in  personal  contact  with  his  person  and  his  life. 

But  what  is  there  in  Christ  to  attract  us  ?  We  may 
discover  it  also,  I  believe,  in  this  narrative.  We  cannot 
say  that  this  man  knew  it  all  as  we  may  know  it,  but  the 
heavenly  forces  of  Christ's  nature  were  there,  meeting  him 
and  making  themselves  felt.  If  the  brightness  of  his 
transfiguration  was  no  longer  visible,  as  that  of  Moses'  face 
when  he  came  down  from  the  mount,  there  was  a  power  in 
his  words  and  look  which  amazed  the  people,  and  which 
srave  confidence  to  the  father  of  the  child  that  Christ  had 
help  for  him  in  his  hand.  And  there  was  a  pity  in  his 
tones  and  bearing,  which  drew  the  heart  of  this  man  to  Him 
with  a  hopeful  trust.  This  majesty  and  this  mercy  of 
Christ  were  brought  home,  we  cannot  doubt,  by  his  own 
secret  impulse.  Though  He  had  not  yet  begun  to  draw  all 
men  by  his   cross  and  by  his  Spirit,  He  was  beginning 


THE  STRUGGLE  AND  VICTORY  OF  FAITH.  1  3 

the  work  on  one  and  another,  to  show  what  He  was  about 
to  do.  Now,  these  are  the  two  things  in  Christ  which  are 
to  attract  us  still.  We  cannot  read  his  words,  and  look 
on  his  face,  as  they  are  presented  to  us  in  the  Gospels, 
without  being  struck  with  the  superhuman  purity  and 
dignity  of  the  Son  of  God ;  and  we  cannot  help  feeling  at 
the  same  time  the  tender  sympathy  of  the  Son  of  Man,  who 
"  takes  our  infirmities  and  bears  our  sicknesses."  Not  in 
all  the  histories  of  mankind  has  such  a  portrait  of  divine 
purity  and  love  ever  been  offered  to  the  world  as  in  the 
recorded  life  and  death  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and  even  those 
who  will  not  bare  their  feet  before  it,  as  holy  ground,  have 
turned  aside  to  look  on  it  as  a  great  sight.  But  if  He 
guides  us  by  his  Holy  Spirit  we  can  see  more.  We  can 
ascend  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  and  behold  his  glory 
as  of  the  only-begotten  of  the  Father,  and  we  can  hear  the 
subject  of  the  discourse  when  "  He  spake  of  hia  decease 
which  He  should  accomplish  at  Jerusalem ; "  we  can  go 
further  still,  and  stand  before  his  cross  with  the  words, 
"  Truly  this  was  the  Son  of  God  " — and,  "  He  bare  our 
sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree."  To  come  to  a  Saviour 
who  is  almighty  in  power  and  all-merciful  in  heart,  to 
whom  the  throne  belongs  of  right,  but  who  chose  the 
cross  that  He  might  make  his  throne  the  seat  of  pardon 
and  eternal  life — this  is  the  way  to  the  Bock  of  security, 
where  we  can  at  last  say,  "  We  have  the  witness  in  our- 
selves j  God  hath  given  to  us  eternal  life,  and  this  life  is 
in  his  Son."  As  the  life  rises  in  the  soul,  we  become 
assured  that  this  could  proceed  only  from  God  in  the  most 
divine  manifestation  of  Himself,  and  we  can  part  with  our 
doubts  when  we  come,  like  Thomas,  to  the  crucified  and 
risen  Saviour,  "  My  Lord,  and  my  God  ! " 

Yet  how  are  we  to  be  drawn  to  the  fulness  of  this  life 
of  faith  in  Christ,  so  as  to  realise  it  1     We  do  not  speak 


14  THE  STRUGGLE  AND  VICTORY  OF  FAITH. 

here  of  God's  part  directly  in  the  work  of  his  Spirit,  but 
of  the  part  He  assigns  to  us  in  our  conduct  and  character. 
Here  also  we  may  learn  from  this  man.  He  came  burdened 
and  bowed  down  with  care  about  his  child,  thinking  little 
at  first  of  his  own  spiritual  need.  But  Christ  did  not 
reject  his  natural  affection,  He  made  it  the  step  to  a  higher 
possession ;  He  did  not  bid  him  forget  his  son,  but  He 
taught  him  to  look  in  upon  his  soul.  And  you  must  have 
remarked  in  most  of  the  cures  Christ  wrought  that  He 
began  with  the  relief  of  some  outward  affliction,  and,  having 
guided  the  faith  of  the  sufferer  to  Himself,  He  then  taught 
it  to  look  to  Him  for  a  greater  deliverance.  He  employed 
his  sympathy  with  what  is  human  to  lead  men  up  to  the 
divine.  It  was  for  this  that  He  was  "  God  manifest  in 
the  flesh.'*  And  if  there  be  any  who  are  pressed  down  by 
the  weight  of  some  trouble  for  which  they  can  find  no 
cure  within  or  around  them,  let  them  know  that  they  are 
invited  to  bring  this  at  once  into  the  presence  of  Him  who 
is  the  God  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh,  and  who  sent  his 
Son  in  our  nature  to  assure  us  that "  He  knows  our  frame, 
and  remembers  that  we  are  dust."  Confidence  in  God  is 
not  to  be  learned  apart  from  life,  but  in  it,  by  taking  our 
first  care,  whatever  it  may  be,  and  committing  it  to  Him 
as  a  faithful  Creator,  and  as  we  have  been  led  to  Him 
through  Christ.  He  may  not  at  once  remove  the  burden, 
but  He  will  give  you  strength  to  bear  it ;  and  if  He  keeps 
it  for  a  while  resting  on  you,  it  is  to  lead  your  heart 
inward  that  you  may  ask  of  Him  strength  of  soul,  as  this 
man  did.  It  is  in  this  way  that  Christ  conducts  us  from 
faith  to  faith.  He  is  a  living,  personal  Saviour,  and  we 
must  go  to  Him  in  living,  personal  acts.  We  get  to  know 
and  trust  Him  not  in  some  abstract,  theoretical  way,  but 
in  the  duties  and  trials  of  our  daily  life.  If  we  have 
reason  to  believe  that  we  have  carried  to  Him  not  only 


THE  STRUGGLE  AND  VICTORY  OF  FAITH.  15 

our  sorrows  but  our  souls,  this  is  still  the  means  by  which 
our  faith  is  to  grow  up  into  a  sense  of  surer  reality. 
Whatever,  then,  be  thy  trouble,  whether  of  body  or  mind, 
of  family  or  estate,  something  which  man  can  see  and 
estimate,  or  something  known  only  to  thyself  and  the 
Searcher  of  hearts,  or  something  which  thou  thyself  canst 
feel  but  canst  not  fathom,  bring  it  to  Him,  and  seek  to 
bring  also  thy  soul  with  all  its  sins  and  shortcomings. 
He  makes  thee  welcome  to  come  as  thou  art,  and  when 
thou  dost  feel  the  comfort  and  strength  which  He  provides, 
thy  faith  shall  gain  a  growing  power.  The  way  to  be 
sure  there  is  a  God  is  to  admit  Him  into  the  soul ;  the 
way  to  be  persuaded  there  is  a  Saviour  is  to  accept  his  help. 
But  still,  with  all  this,  some  one  may  be  saying,  '  When 
I  turn  my  eye  in  this  way  within,  the  first  thing  that 
meets  me  is  this  weak  and  wavering  faith  of  mine.  I  wish 
I  could  strengthen  it,  that  it  might  have  power  to  lift  my 
sins  and  sorrows  into  the  presence  of  Christ.  Can  you 
tell  me  of  any  means  by  which  I  may  acquire  the  faith 
which  shall  carry  my  soul  to  Him  V  Now,  if  we  look  to 
the  example  of  this  man,  we  shall  again  be  helped.  For, 
see,  he  does  not  continue  fighting  out  the  question  in  his 
own  heart,  answering  reasons  with  reasons.  He  brings 
not  only  his  trial  to  Christ,  but  his  faith,  or  rather  his 
want  of  faith.  He  seems  to  have  no  more  of  faith  than 
suffices  to  cry  out  and  pray  against  his  unbelief.  It  is 
like  the  ship  when  the  disciples  were  contending  with 
adverse  waves,  ready  to  sink,  and  there  was  only  light 
enough  to  look  to  Christ — 

"  Watcher  in  tbe  night ! 

When  the  billows'  might 
O'er  the  heart's  frail  bark  is  sweeping, 
Let  my  faith  be  in  thy  keeping  ; 

Lose  me  not  from  sight, 

Watcher  in  the  night !" 


1  6  THE  STRUGGLE  AND  VICTORY  OE  FAITH. 

Now,  what  the  Church  of  Christ  wants,  and  what 
all  of  us  individually  want,  is  to  bring  the  reasonings 
and  doubts  of  the  heart  into  the  presence  of  Christ 
himself.  When  we  turn  our  back  on  Him,  we  are  to- 
ward darkness ;  when  we  look  to  Him,  we  are  lightened. 
God  means  that  sunshine  should  remove  mists,  and  that 
Christ  should  take  away  doubts.  There  is  an  endless 
depth  of  meaning  in  the  saying  of  the  Psalmist,  "  With 
Thee  is  the  fountain  of  life  :  in  thy  light  shall  we  see 
light ;"  and  it  has  been  applied  by  the  Evangelist  to 
Christ,  "  In  Him  was  life ;  and  the  life  was  the  light 
of  men."  If,  with  all  the  reasonings  we  employ,  the 
Church  of  Christ  were  to  cry  more  earnestly  to  Him  for 
the  life  He  gives,  she  would  confirm  herself,  and  she 
would  do  much  to  convince  the  world.  It  is  ordained 
that  the  strongest  life  should  conquer,  and  the  strongest 
life  is  surely  the  Divine.  And  if  there  are  men  who  have 
lost  their  faith,  or  fear  they  are  losing  it,  while  they 
deplore  the  loss,  let  them  cry  toward  that  quarter  of  the 
heavens  where  they  once  felt  as  if  light  were  shining  for 
them,  and  an  answer  will  in  due  time  come.  Christ  is 
there  whether  they  see  Him  or  not,  and  He  will  hear  their 
prayer  though  it  has  a  sore  battle  with  doubts.  Let  a 
man  only  say,  '  If  there  be  a  God,  it  must  be  his  wish 
that  I  should  know  Him  and  love  Him,  if  not  for  his  own 
sake,  yet  for  mine ;  if  there  be  a  Christ,  it  must  be  in  his 
heart  to  hear  me  and  help  me,  for  I  do  deeply  need  his 
help  ;  and  so  I  will  make  this  man's  prayer  my  own,  and 
I  will  press  it  as  if  I  saw  Christ  himself.  If  Thou  canst 
do  anything,  have  compassion  on  me  and  help  me.' 
All  that  we  can  read  or  think  of  Christ  shows  that  He  must 
be  willing  to  give  final  victory  to  faith.  It  is  for  man's 
truest  good  and  God's  highest  glory  that  we  should  come 
to  God  believing  that  He  is,  and  that  He  is  a  re  warder  of 


THE  STRUGGLE  AND  VICTORY  OF  FAITH.  17 

them  that  diligently  seek  Him.  He  has  an  eye  for  it  in 
its  deepest  weakness,  "If  ye  have  faith  as  a  grain  of 
mustard  seed."  He  encourages  it  even  when  He  rebukes 
its  faintness,  "  0  thou  of  little  faith,  wherefore  didst  thou 
doubt  1"  He  prays  for  it  when  it  can  scarcely  pray  for 
itself,  "  Satan  hath  desired  to  have  you,  that  he  may  sift 
you  as  wheat ;  but  I  have  prayed  for  thee,  that  thy  faith 
fail  not."  Therefore  let  us  make  this  prayer  more  than 
ever  ours,  since  Christ  himself  is  praying  with  us.  There 
are  many  short  prayers  in  the  Gospels  put  there  for  those 
who  have  weak  hearts  and  short  memories,  or  who  may 
need  a  brief,  strong  word  to  send  up  to  God  in  the  press 
of  life  and  the  thick  of  battle.  For  the  man  who  is  ready 
to  sink,  "  Lord,  save  me,  I  perish  ! " — for  the  man  who  is 
struggling  with  darkness,  "  Lord,  that  mine  eyes  may  be 
opened  !" — for  him  who  longs  for  purity,  "  Lord,  if  Thou 
wilt,  Thou  canst  make  me  clean!" — for  him  who  is 
looking  death  in  the  face,  "  Lord,  remember  me  when  Thou 
comest  into  thy  kingdom  ! "  But  here  is  one  which  is 
needed  for  them  all,  and  suited  to  every  heart,  "  Lord,  I 
believe  ;  help  Thou  mine  unbelief."  It  comes  far  down 
like  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself,  stretches  out  a  hand 
of  help  to  the  feeblest,  and  secures  at  last  an  answer  to  all 
the  other  prayers  of  the  Word  of  God.  If  men  will  use  it 
truly,  it  will  give  power  to  the  faint,  and  to  them  that 
have  no  might  it  will  increase  strength,  till  it  issues  in  the 
full  confidence,  "  I  know  whom  I  have  believed,  and  am 
persuaded  that  He  is  able  to  keep  that  which  I  have  com- 
mitted unto  Him  against  that  day." 


II. 

PRAYER  FOR  A  COMPLETE  LIFE,  AND  ITS  PLEA. 

"  /  said,  0  my  God,  take  me  not  away  in  the  midst  of  my  days  :  thy 
years  are  throughout  all  generations." — Psalm  cit.  24. 

This  is  a  prayer  which  springs  from  the  bosom  of  the 
Old  Testament,  and  it  bears  the  impress  of  its  time.  Life 
and  immortality  had  not  yet  been  brought  to  light ;  and 
long  life  in  the  land  which  the  Lord  their  God  had  given 
them  was  a  special  promise  made  to  these  ancient  saints. 
The  prayer  looks  to  that  promise.  The  man  asks  that  he 
may  not  be  cut  off  prematurely  from  the  work  and  enjoy- 
ment of  life  in  this  world.  It  is  thus  the  request  for  a 
complete  life.  But  he  is  a  believing  man  who  submits  his 
wish  to  the  will  of  God,  and  who  is  ready  to  accept  life  in 
the  form  in  which  God  orders  it.  He  feels  that  there  can 
be  no  real  life  without  God,  but  that  with  Him  it  is 
certain  to  have  a  perfect  and  happy  issue.  In  such  a 
prayer,  then,  a  future  and  eternal  life  is  implied.  The 
desire  for  it  is  struggling  in  the  man's  soul,  though  the 
full  vision  of  it  has  not  yet  opened  before  him.  When 
the  Gospel  comes,  and  shows  us  eternal  life  in  Jesus 
Christ,  it  merely  unfolds  into  flower  and  fruit  the  germ 
which  is  already  contained  there.  We  shall  avail  ourselves 
of  the  light  of  the  Gospel  to  explain  what  the  meaning  of 
this  prayer  is,  and  on  what  ground  it  is  urged.  Our  sub- 
ject  briefly   stated,  then,   is — a  Complete  Life,  and  the 

Plea  for  i  I . 

i 


PRAYER  FOR  A  COMPLETE  LIFE,  AND  ITS  PLEA.  19 

I.  When  is  it  that  a  life  may  be  said  to  be  complete  % 
And  here  we  may  observe,  that  while  length  of  life  in 
this  world  is  not  the  chief  blessing  of  the  New  Testament, 
there  is  nothing  wrong  in  desiring  it,  and  that,  when  well 
used,  it  may  have  on  it  special  marks  of  God's  wisdom  and 
kindness.  The  love  of  life  is  natural,  for  God  has  given 
us  a  strong  attachment  to  the  world  where  our  eyes  have 
first  opened  on  this  beautiful  earth  and  pleasant  sunlight. 
He  has  surrounded  us  with  families  and  friends,  whose 
love  makes  existence  sweet.  There  are  duties  to  be  per- 
formed in  which  we  feel  we  are  needed,  and  spiritual  in- 
terests to  be  fixed  and  promoted  before  we  enter  with  full 
acquiescence  on  the  great  and  untried  scenes  that  lie  be- 
yond. Length  of  days,  like  every  other  possession,  like 
power  or  wealth  or  intellect,  is  a  gift  to  be  employed  in 
God's  service — the  woof  on  which  a  good  man  may  weave 
valuable  material,  and  many  rich  and  fair  colours.  And 
yet  we  must  remember  that  long  life  has  not  always  been 
granted  to  some  of  God's  truest  friends.  Even  in  the  Old 
Testament  there  is  the  lesson  that  a  complete  life  does  not 
need  to  be  a  prolonged  one  \  the  very  first  death  recorded, 
that  of  Abel  the  righteous,  was  sudden  and  premature. 
Enoch  lived  but  a  short  time  on  earth  compared  with  his 
contemporaries,  and  Elijah,  was  called  away  before  his  na- 
tural powers  had  failed.  It  is  enough  to  mention  Abijah  the 
son  of  Jeroboam,  and  the  good  Josiah,  and  to  remind  you, 
above  all,  that  our  Lord  and  Master,  the  central  life  of  God's 
entire  Word,  was  cut  off  long  ere  He  had  reached  the  mid- 
time  of  his  days.  It  is  necessary,  then,  in  speaking  of  a 
complete  life,  to  find  those  elements  that  will  suit  either  him 
who  has  come  to  his  grave  in  a  full  age,  or  the  young  who 
have  been  taken  away  in  the  beginning  of  their  days.  We 
thank  God  that  in  his  Word  we  can  find  a  goal,  where  the 
old  and  the  young  may  meet  in  a  complete  and  perfect  life. 


20        PRAYER  FOR  A  COMPLETE  LIFE,  AND  ITS  PLEA. 

1.  The  first  thing  needed  to  gain  this  is  that  a  man  should 
have  lived  long  enough  to  secure  God's  favour.  Until  he  has 
found  this  he  has  not  attained  the  great  end  for  which  life 
has  been  given  to  an  intelligent  and  responsible  creature. 
Whatever  else  a  man  may  possess  in  this  world — its 
power,  its  fame,  its  riches,  its  learning — if  he  has  not 
entered  into  the  favour  of  God,  if  he  is  not  living  in  his 
fellowship,  he  has  not  seen  life.  Its  palace  gate  has  not 
been  opened  to  him,  its  light  has  not  visited  his  eye,  its 
pulse  has  not  begun  to  beat  in  his  heart.  He  is  less  the 
possessor  of  what  he  calls  his  own  than  Belshazzar  was  of 
his  kingdom  when  his  dethronement  was  being  written  on 
his  palace  wall ;  as  little  as  a  dead  Pharaoh  in  his  pyramid 
was  lord  of  the  treasures  of  Egypt.  The  favour  of  God 
alone  can  make  anything  on  earth  truly  ours,  and  truly 
good  ;  can  give  permanence  to  what  is  good,  and  render 
it  a  foretaste  of  things  infinitely  better.  Whensoever  a 
man  dies  without  this,  he  is  taken  away  in  the  midst  of 
his  days,  hurried  out  of  existence  before  he  has  secured  its 
one  grand  prize.  Death  draws  the  curtain  at  midnight 
and  breaks  his  dream  :  "  Thou  fool,  this  night  thy  soul 
shall  be  required  of  thee ;  then  whose  shall  those  things 
be  which  thou  hast  provided  1 "  But  if  God's  favour  has 
been  gained,  we  can  rejoice  in  the  blessed  equality  of  all 
who  reach  it.  "  The  child  dies  an  hundred  years  old  ;  " 
the  youth  comes  to  his  grave  "  in  a  full  age,  like  as  a 
shock  of  corn  cometh  in,  in  his  season."  We  lament  early 
Christian  deaths  as  untimely,  but  in  that  favour  of  God 
which  is  life  every  term  attains  maturity.  Some  find  the 
gate  of  heaven  by  a  short  path,  while  others  enter  after 
long  years  of  toil  and  travel.  While  some  of  us  continue 
careful  and  cumbered  about  many  things — an  honourable 
work  if  we  do  not  complain  of  it — there  are  those  who  go 
in  and  sit  down  at  once  at  the  feet  of  Christ,  when  they 


PRAYER  FOR  A  COMPLETE  LIFE,  AND  ITS  PLEA.         2  1 

have  found  "  the  one  thing  needful,  the  good  part  which 
shall  not  be  taken  away."  Let  me  ask  myself,  Can  I  say 
that  death  shall  find  my  life  thus  complete  1  There  is  but 
one  way  of  assurance.  It  is  through  laying  hold  of  that 
Saviour  of  whom  it  is  said,  "  Ye  are  complete  in  Him  ;  " 
who  offers  Himself  freely  to  our  acceptance  with  the  words, 
"  He  that  findeth  Me  findeth  life,  and  shall  obtain  favour 
of  the  Lord." 

2.  A  complete  life  has  this  in  it  still  further,  that  it  has 
done  God  and  his  world  some  service.  We  are  here  not  merely 
to  find  God's  favour,  but  to  do  God's  work,  to  be  followers 
of  Christ,  who  said,  "  I  must  work  the  works  of  Him  who 
sent  Me,  while  it  is  day."  His  was  the  one  great,  perfect 
life,  which  never  spared  a  labour,  never  missed  an  oppor- 
tunity, and  looking  back  on  which  He  could  say  so  calmly, 
"  It  is  finished."  How  far  we  are  from  filling  up  that 
model !  How  ready,  while  the  bridegroom  tarries,  to  slum- 
ber and  sleep,  and  awake  with  a  start  because  we  have 
let  the  supreme  moment  take  us  unawares  !  And,  there- 
fore, there  are  degrees  of  completeness  even  in  Christian 
lives.  They  all  reach  the  haven,  but  some  of  them  with 
fuller  sail  and  richer  freight.  The  salvation  in  the  great 
day  will  be  to  all  God's  people  of  free  grace,  and  yet  we 
must  believe  that  its  rest  will  be  sweeter  to  the  wearied 
labourer,  and  the  enjoyment  greater  to  him  who  brings 
home  sheaves  which  are  the  fruit  of  tears  and  toil.  "  They 
joy  before  Him  according  to  the  joy  of  harvest."  But 
withal,  and  in  view  of  those  who  have  reaped  long  and 
largely,  it  is  a  comfort  to  think  that  no  true  Christian  life 
is  passed  in  vain.  God  will  not  terminate  it  till  it  can 
appear  before  Him  in  Christ's  own  spirit,  "  Behold,  I  and 
the  children  whom  Thou  hast  given  Me."  Stephen's 
Christian  life  was  short,  and  yet  what  ends  it  gained ! 
The  dying  thief's  was  still  shorter,  but  how  many  sermons 


22         PRAYER  FOR  A  COMPLETE  LIFE,  AND  ITS  PLEA. 

his  words  have  preached  to  dying  men  !  The  child  that 
Christ  takes  into  his  arms,  through  death,  from  its 
mother's  bosom,  can  be  made  to  draw  the  heart  to  the 
heavenly  kingdom,  and  when  we  can  do  no  work,  but  only 
lie  passive  in  his  keeping,  we  may  be  fulfilling  purposes 
of  far-reaching  wisdom  and  mercy.  It  is  a  view  of  the 
coming  judgment,  as  wonderfully  tender  as  sublime,  that 
what  Christians  forget  Christ  remembers  and  reckons  up, 
as  done  to  Himself — the  cup  of  cold  water  given  in  his 
name.  It  may  stir  us  up,  if  we  are  indolent,  to  be  active ; 
it  may  persuade  us,  if  we  are  weak  and  helpless,  to  lie 
resignedly  still ;  it  may  encourage  us  to  cast  over  our  im- 
perfect past  his  perfect  righteousness,  and  to  dedicate  our 
feeble  all  to  his  service,  when  we  have  the  assurance  that 
whether  the  life  be  long  or  short,  He  will  make  it  "  neither 
barren  nor  unfruitful  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus." 

3.  The  next  thing  we  mention  in  a  complete  life  is  that  it 
should  close  with  submission  to  the  call  of  God.  Even  a  good 
man  may  not  always  be  ready  for  this.  Warm  hearts  and 
active  natures  are  sometimes  so  interested  in  the  friends 
and  work  around  them,  that  it  is  hard  to  find  an  open 
place  for  parting.  The  speaker  in  this  psalm  felt  it  so, 
and  Hezekiah  likewise  when  he  wept  sore  against  the 
door  of  death.  Yet  God  has  his  own  way  of  making 
such  as  these  resigned,  and  He  doubtless  does  it  in  the 
secret  of  his  presence,  when  we  cannot  hear  their  words 
of  consent.  But  it  is  more  pleasant  to  us  when  we  hear 
from  the  lips,  or  see  from  the  bearing,  the  act  of  self- 
surrender.  Joseph  reached  it  when  he  said  so  simply  and 
quietly,  "  I  die,  and  God  will  surely  visit  you ;"  and 
Moses  when,  leaving  his  great  labour  and  wish  unfinished, 
he  looked  up  and  touched  completeness  in  that  word, 
"  Thou  art  a  Rock,  thy  work  is  perfect."  We  have  lived 
long  enough  when  we  can  tranquilly  give  up  the  problem 


PRAYER  FOR  A  COMPLETE  LIFE,  AND  ITS  PLEA.  23 

we  have  been  working  at  to  God,  that  He  may  complete 
it,  when  we  can  rest  assured  that  He  will  still  be  a  God 
to  us,  and  to  our  friends,  though  He  makes  death  for  a 
while  divide  our  paths ;  and  that  his  way  to  the  triumph 
of  his  cause  can  be  over  the  graves  of  his  servants,  with 
a  banner  that  never  droops  though  the  hands  of  all  of  us 
relax  their  hold.  This  submission  may  be  gained  through 
the  long  experience  of  the  Christian  life ;  it  may  be  wit- 
nessed in  the  quiet  peace  with  which  the  setting  sun  falls 
aslant  on  the  softened  look  and  silver  hair,  but  it  is 
granted  often  to  those  who  close  their  eyes  on  a  beautiful 
dawn,  or  bright  noonday,  as  unrepiningly  as  if  they  had 
seen  all  God's  goodness  in  the  land  of  the  living.  There 
is  a  dew  of  youth  that  exhales  in  sunlight,  as  there  is  a 
dew  of  nightfall  that  waits  for  the  morning.  It  comes, 
like  God's  dew,  always  from  a  clear  sky,  and  tells  of  his 
completed  work.  The  man  is  not  torn  from  life,  but 
loosed.  He  signs  his  own  name  beneath  God's  discharge, 
and  goes  to  other  work  which  is  ready  for  him.  The 
great  Roman  general  gathered  his  robes  round  him  under 
the  strokes  of  his  enemies,  covered  his  face,  and  sank  like 
a  conqueror  rather  than  a  victim.  But  in  that  same 
Rome  there  was  a  nobler  farewell  to  life  when  the  apostle 
said,  "  I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered,  and  the  time  of  my 
departure  is  at  hand;"  and  when  he  invited  all  to  share 
in  it  "  who  love  Christ's  appearing."  For  still,  when  any 
one  has  learned  at  God's  call  to  gather  in  human  desires 
and  hopes,  and  to  put  them  in  his  hand,  and  has  been 
seen,  not  with  covered  but  open  face,  to  meet  the  last 
enemy,  his  life  is  complete,  for  he  is  ready  and  willing  to 
die. 

4.  The  last  thing  we  mention  in  a  complete  life  is  that  it 
should  look  forward  to  a  continued  life  with  God.  Without 
this,  all  we  have  spoken  of  would  be  incomplete.     What 


24         PRAYER  FOR  A  COMPLETE  LIFE,  AND  ITS  PLEA. 

estimate  can  I  set  on  God's  favour  if  it  lifts  me  up  to  the 
view  of  Divine  loving-kindness,  only  to  let  me  fall  into 
nothingness  %  What  deep  interest  can  I  be  taking  in  the 
cause  of  truth  and  righteousness,  if  I  have  no  care  about 
seeing  its  progress  and  triumph  1  And  how  can  I  be 
ready  to  give  up  my  earthly  life  at  God's  call,  if  I  am 
bidding  an  eternal  farewell  to  God  himself?  Would  it 
not  be  of  all  things  the  most  imperfect  and  unnatural  that 
a  man  should  be  a  friend  of  God,  and  take  delight  in 
approaching  to  Him,  and  conversing  with  his  thoughts  as 
they  speak  to  us  in  his  Word  and  in  his  works,  and  that 
the  man  should  feel,  at  every  moment,  that  all  this  can  be 
broken  off  for  ever  ?  that  he  should  have  a  view  of  a 
universe  of  truth  and  beauty  and  goodness,  opening  up 
through  parting  clouds — of  a  divine  purpose  working  to  a 
far-off  end  which  he  knows  and  feels  must  come,  and  that 
he  should  lay  down  his  head  in  the  dust  of  utter  forgetful- 
ness,  and  be  willing  to  have  it  so  ?  Then,  the  higher  the 
form  of  life  the  more  miserable  its  issue.  There  are  many 
bitter  farewells  in  our  world,  but  we  can  bear  them  all  if 
we  do  not  need  to  bid  farewell  to  God  ;  for  to  live  with 
Him  is  to  preserve  the  hope  which  shall  restore  all  we 
meanwhile  lose.  But  the  thought  of  such  a  farewell 
has  in  it  the  proof  that  its  reality  is  impossible.  Where 
God  shows  his  face,  opens  his  heart,  to  a  man,  it  is  the 
seal  of  eternal  life.  This  gift  and  calling  of  God  is  with- 
out repentance.  And  herein  we  have  the  assurance  of 
the  final  completeness  of  a  life.  There  is  room  here  for 
rectifying  all  that  is  wrong,  for  supplying  all  that  is 
wanting,  for  doing  to  us  above  all  that  we  ask  or  think. 
It  meets  the  longest  life  and  the  shortest  with  the  same 
promise  of  perfection.  Our  night  taper  lasts  long  enough 
if  it  lets  in  the  eternal  day.  "  He  asked  life  of  Thee,  and 
Thou  gavest  it  him,  even  length  of  days  for  ever  and  ever." 


PRAYER  FOR  A  COMPLETE  LIFE,  AND  ITS  PLEA.         25 

II.  We  come  now  to  consider  the  Plea  for  a  Complete 
Life  which  this  prayer  contains. 

The  Psalmist  contrasts  his  days  with  God's  years,  his 
being  cut  off  in  the  midst  of  his  days  with  those  years 
that  are  throughout  all  generations.  There  is  deep  pathos 
in  it,  a  sense  of  his  own  utter  frailty  and  evanescence. 
And  yet  in  the  heart  of  it  there  is  faith  and  hope.  It  is 
an  appeal  to  God  as  the  possessor  of  a  complete  life  in  the 
most  absolute  sense,  the  inhabitant  and  owner  of  eternity. 
'  Thou  hast  thine  own  perfect  and  everlasting  existence  ; 
give  to  thy  creature  a  share  in  it,  according  to  his  nature. 
He  thirsts  for  life  and  comes  to  the  fountain  of  it.  Here 
in  thy  world,  or  elsewhere,  if  it  may  be,  let  him  live  in 
thy  universe  and  look  up  to  Thyself.'  In  putting  this 
plea  beside  the  prayer,  we  do  not  in  any  way  strain  the 
meaning  of  the  passage.  Let  any  one  read  this  psalm 
attentively,  and  he  will  feel  that  this  is  its  entire  bearing. 
We  have  a  man  to  whom  life,  as  he  sees  it  behind  and 
around  him,  is  broken  and  disappointing.  His  body,  his 
spirit,  his  earthly  relationships,  the  cause  of  God  so  dear 
to  his  heart,  are  falling  to  decay.  What  can  he  do  but 
turn  to  God  himself  1  What  but  hold  fast  by  his  eternity 
and  unchanging  purpose  1  In  the  mind  of  an  ancient 
believer  the  prayer  had  reference,  first  and  most  clearly, 
to  this  present  world  ;  in  our  view  it  has  widened  to  the 
full  expectation  of  a  world  to  come.  But,  by  whomsoever 
presented,  it  expresses  the  instinctive  aversion  of  man  to 
give  up  a  conscious  and  personal  existence.  It  is  a  cry 
from  the  profoundest  depths  of  the  soul  to  be  preserved 
from  extinction,  and  it  is  a  cry  to  its  Maker  founded  on 
his  nature  as  the  living,  everlasting  God.  Let  us  look  at 
some  thoughts  implied  in  this  plea. 

1.  The  eternal  life  of  God  suggests  the  thought  of  his 
power  to  grant  this  request.     He  is  the  possessor  of  indepen- 


26         PRAYER  FOR  A  COMPLETE  LIFE,  AND  ITS  PLEA. 

dent  and  everlasting  existence,  and  can  share  it  with  his 
creatures  as  seems  good  to  Him.  "  He  only  hath  immor- 
tality," that  is,  He  only,  as  no  one  else.  It  belongs  to  Him, 
imderived,  unconditioned,  held  by  no  will,  ruled  by  no  law 
out  of  Himself.  But,  as  we  see,  He  is  a  generous  giver ;  it 
is  his  nature  to  be  not  only  living,  but  life-giving.  In  his 
hand  is  the  breath  of  all  that  lives,  and  the  soul  of  all 
mankind.  And  they  take  from  Him  not  so  much  as  the 
showers  of  the  earth  do  from  the  waters  of  the  ocean,  or 
the  rays  of  the  sun  from  the  brightness  of  his  orb ;  for 
these  draw  from  the  substance  of  their  source,  but  the 
creatures  of  God  derive  being  from  his  will,  and  leave 
Him  unchanged  and  unchangeable.  No  one  can  rise  to 
this  view  of  God,  without  feeling  that  it  is  in  his  power  to 
bestow  life  in  higher  and  more  enduring  forms  than  any 
that  are  seen  around  us.  Would  it  not  be  a  most  unnatural 
and  irrational  limitation  of  the  Eternal  Source  of  being,  to 
affirm  that  He  can  give  origin  only  to  kinds  and  measures 
of  life  such  as  appear  in  this  world,  that  He  can  be  the 
parent  merely  of  creatures  that  die  1  If  this  world  shows 
us  the  extent  of  his  ability  to  be  the  Giver  of  life,  it  may 
be  said  that  death  more  than  life  is  the  sign  of  his  work- 
manship. The  graves  have  long  since  far  outnumbered 
the  living  inhabitants ;  and  existence,  in  the  highest  modes 
in  which  we  are  acquainted  with  it,  is  so  brief,  so  troubled, 
so  occupied  with  thoughts  of  its  own  preservation,  and 
fears  of  its  extinction,  that  life  can  scarcely  be  enjoyed  in 
the  anticipation  of  the  loss  of  it.  An  eternal  and  conscious 
Author  of  the  world  must  surely  have  ability  .to  pass 
beyond  the  limits  of  our  narrow  experience,  and  must 
have  some  means  of  answering  the  cry  of  his  intelligent 
creatures,  that  "  they  may  have  life,  and  that  they  may 
have  it  more  abundantly."  This  cry,  so  deep,  so  constant, 
whence  does  it  come  if  it  is  not  of  his  own  prompting,  and 


PRAYER  FOR  A  COMPLETE  LIFE,  AND  ITS  PLEA.         27 

shall  not  the  everlasting  God  be  able  to  satisfy  the  desires 
He  suggests  1  When  we  think  of  it  thus,  the  tokens  of 
his  quickening  and  preserving  power  in  nature  come  to 
sustain  us.  We  can  look  not  at  the  side  of  death  but  of 
life  in  them,  at  sunrises  and  springs  and  perpetual  renewals, 
and  we  can  reason  that  He  who  gives  life  in  such  wonder- 
ful profusion  can  bestow  it  in  still  more  glorious  and 
permanent  forms.  "  0  Lord,  Thou  preservest  man  and 
beast.  Therefore  the  children  of  men  put  their  trust 
under  the  shadow  of  thy  wings.  For  with  Thee  is  the 
fountain  of  life  ;  in  thy  light  shall  we  see  light." 

2.  The  eternal  being  of  God  suggests  the  thought  of 
his  immutability  to  secure  the  request.  The  unchangeable- 
ness  of  God  in  the  midst  of  all  the  changes  of  our  life  is  a 
deep  source  of  comfort.  Those  ancient  saints  dwelt  upon 
it  more  than  we  seem  to  do,  and  they  were  made  very 
strong  by  it.  It  consoled  them  in  the  absence  of  the  clear 
view  of  their  own  immortality ;  it  was  the  soil  in  which 
the  seed  of  it  lay,  and  to  which  we  should  still  seek  to 
carry  down  the  roots  of  our  faith.  Beneath  this  shifting 
face  of  things,  where  we  look  on  endless  change,  there  is  a 
great  Life  that  is  not  only  the  source  but  the  sustenance 
of  ours,  a  Life  that  is  not  blind  and  purposeless,  but  con- 
scious and  wise.  It  is  not  merely  a  Life,  but  an  ever- 
living  One,  and  it  is  in  his  bosom  that  we  are  born  and 
live  and  die.  We  have  many  deaths  before  we  come  to 
the  last — some  of  them  which  seem  sorer  than  even  the 
last  can  be — deaths  of  desires,  deaths  of  hopes,  deaths  of 
friends.  And  yet,  if  we  have  carried  them  to  God,  there 
has  come,  from  these  deaths,  a  life,  some  new  and  higher 
hope,  some  deeper  and  richer  possession  of  the  soul.  Amid 
these  changes  we  have  felt  that  we  were  taking  in  some- 
thing unchanging,  felt,  at  least,  that  there  was  something 
unchanging  which  could  be  taken  in.     And  this  may  give 


28        PRAYER  FOR  A  COMPLETE  LIFE,  AND  ITS  PLEA. 

us  the  hope  that  the  last  change  will  have  a  like  result, 
the  last  death  a  corresponding  life  to  us.  We  may  have 
the  confidence  of  this,  if  we  realise  the  thought  of  an 
ever-living  God,  who  not  only  gave  being  to  our  souls, 
but  holds  them  in  his  hand,  and  puts  into  them  desires 
after  Himself.  All  the  changes,  whether  of  life  or  death, 
cannot  affect  our  relation  to  Him,  except  in  bringing  us 
nearer.  Without  an  eternal  God,  what  refuge  would  there 
be  for  troubled  souls  1  When  the  sea  is  tempest-tossed, 
we  flee  to  land  ;  when  the  land  quakes,  we  look  to  heaven  ; 
when  all  things  are  dissolved,  then  to  Him  who  says,  "  I 
am  the  Lord,  I  change  not."  We  may  lie  quietly  down 
in  our  little  earthly  homes  when  we  have  the  overarching 
sky  of  God's  hand  above  us,  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty ; 
and  we  may  lie  down  hopefully  in  our  graves  when  we  com- 
mit ourselves  to  an  unchanging  God.  "  The  eternal  God 
is  thy  refuge,  and  underneath  are  the  everlasting  arms." 

3..  Still  further,  the  thought  of  God's  eternal  being 
suggests  his  Divine  consistency  as  an  encouragement  to  this 
request.  He  has  done  so  much,  that  we  may  infer  He  will, 
if  we  ask  Him,  do  still  more.  Man's  wish  for  immortality 
does  not,  as  some  say,  spring  from  a  mere  animal  craving, 
from  the  love  of  living  on,  but  from  his  being  made  able 
to  conceive  of  an  endless  existence.  The  lower  creatures 
have  no  such  desire,  because  they  have  no  such  conception. 
But  man  can  conceive  of  endless  existence  as  in  the  posses- 
sion of  one  great,  personal  Being,  and  may  plead  for  it  on 
the  ground  that  he  has  been  made  capable  of  looking  for- 
ward to  it.  It  could  not  be  his  Maker's  design  to  tantalise 
him  with  a  vision  of  what  is  for  ever  unattainable,  to  show 
him  the  glory  of  an  endless  life,  and  then  to  say  to  him, 
'  This  shall  never  be  thine — no  more  of  life  for  thee  than 
this  drop  with  which  I  now  touch  thy  lips,  and  which 
awakens  in  thee  the  thirst  to  live  on.'     What  a  universe 


PRAYER  FOR  A  COMPLETE  LIFE,  AND  ITS  PLEA. 


29 


would  such  a  thought  present  to  us  !  a  God  who  drinks  of 
the  golden  cup  of  immortality  all  alone,  in  full  view  of 
creatures  whom  He  tempts  with  its  sparkle,  to  whom  He 
shakes  some  scattered  drops  from  the  brim,  while  they  beg 
for  more  that  they  may  not  die,  and  beg  in  vain !  For, 
let  it  be  considered  that  the  life  they  ask,  if  it  be  a  true 
request,  is  not  a  mere  life  of  animal  existence.  There  are 
ties  formed  here  between  soul  and  soul  that  cry  out  for  an 
eternity  to  be  renewed  in,  and  better  never  to  have  known 
hearts  so  tender  and  true  than  to  feel  that  we  have  bidden 
them  an  everlasting  farewell.  There  are  questions  raised 
about  the  problems  of  being,  the  wisdom,  the  justice,  the 
goodness  of  the  arrangements  of  this  universe,  which  our 
little  life  cannot  answer,  and  which  knock  with  an  imperi- 
ous demand  at  the  eternal  gate.  Above  all,  there  are  the 
aspirations  of  the  spirit  after  the  infinite  Friend  and 
Father,  for  which  we  thank  Him  most,  if  He  has  stirred 
them  within  us,  and  which  we  know  to  be  deep  realities, 
longings  that  draw  down  divine  bequests,  communings 
which  find  an  answer  from  a  Spirit  higher  than  our  own. 
Are  these  never  to  close  upon  their  object,  and  become 
something  more  than  glimpses  and  foretastes  1 

Let  us  think,  then,  with  ourselves  in  this  way :  I  feel 
when  I  am  in  my  best  moments  that  these  things  are  to 
be  the  perfection  of  my  nature,  if  I  ever  reach  it.  But  I 
cannot  reach  it  without  an  immortality.  Will  not  the 
Being  who  presents  me  with  this  aim,  and  has  formed  me 
capable  of  conceiving  of  an  immortality,  grant  me  the  im- 
mortality without  which  the  aim  can  never  be  reached  1 
When  I  contemplate  Him,  I  see  that  his  eternity  is  the 
enclosing  zone,  the  compact  and  mighty  girdle  of  all  his 
attributes,  without  which  they  would  be  scattered,  conflict- 
ing forces,  aimless  and  chaotic  and  fruitless.  And  what 
eternity    is    to    God,    immortality  is  to  man.     It  is  the 


30         PRAYER  FOR  A  COMPLETE  LIFE,  AND  ITS  PLEA. 

indispensable  requisite  to  the  unity  and  completeness  of 
his  being.  If,  then,  God  has  made  Himself  my  highest 
standard,  his  unalterable  truth  and  righteousness  and 
goodness  the  goal  towards  which  I  should  press,  may  I  not 
expect  that  the  course  will  be  opened  which  leads  to  the 
goal1?  Without  this,  his  attributes  would  be,  for  his 
children,  the  perpetual  object  of  their  despairing  gaze. 
We  may  plead  surely  that  He  who  has  given  us  such  a 
Divine  plan  of  life  should,  in  his  consistency,  make  the 
term  of  our  life  commensurate  with  it.  "  0  my  God,  take 
me  not  away  in  the  midst  of  my  days  :  thy  years  are 
throughout  all  generations." 

4.  Last  of  all,  let  us  say  that  God's  eternal  being  is  a  pica 
for  this  request,  because  it  suggests  his  Divine  compassion 
for  us.  Those  men  who  think  they  exalt  God  by  making 
Him  indifferent  to  humanity  are  as  far  wrong  in  their 
philosophy  as  in  their  divinity.  They  speak  of  Him  as 
so  high  above  us  in  his  infinite  nature  that  He  regards  us 
no  more  than  we  do  the  short-lived  insects  of  a  summer 
evening,  or  the  drifting  leaves  on  the  autumn  winds.  But 
the  greatest  natures  are  the  most  sensitively  tender,  and  a 
true  man  has  a  feeling  akin  to  sympathy  for  the  insect  of 
a  day,  a  touch  of  pity  when  he  sees  the  yellow  leaf;  if 
not  for  itself,  yet  for  what  it  signifies.  Great  natures  are 
made  not  more  limited  by  their  greatness,  but  more  com- 
prehensive; and  the  eternity  of  God  does  not  shut  out  the 
thoughts  and  trials  of  human  lives,  but  brings  them  more 
within  his  merciful  regard.  It  is  thus  the  Bible  puts  it, 
and  it  finds  an  echo  in  our  hearts  :  "  He  knoweth  our 
frame;  He  remembereth  that  we  are  dust."  Frail  man! 
"  He  remembered  that  they  were  but  flesh,  a  wind  that 
passeth  away,  and  cometh  not  again."  When  we  feel  a  touch 
of  tenderness  to  the  feeble  creatures  round  us,  to  the  bird 
or  butterfly  that  sings  its  song,  and  flutters  its  hour,  and 


PRAYER  FOR  A  COMPLETE  LIFE,  AND  ITS  PLEA.         31 

dies,  let  us  not  imagine  we  are  more  compassionate  than 
God.  Every  spark  of  mercy  is  from  his  hearth.  And 
when  He  has  put  into  our  souls  a  sense  of  a  higher  life, 
and  a  cry  for  its  fulness  in  Himself,  let  us  not  believe 
He  will  treat  us  worse  than  the  beasts  that  perish,  that 
He  will  meet  their  wants  in  his  great  liberality,  and  leave 
ours  in  endless  disappointment. 

When  we  converse  with  such  thoughts  as  these,  when 
we  feel  that,  short-lived  and  imperfect  as  we  are,  we  can 
conceive  of  God's  eternity,  comprehend  something  of  his 
consistency  and  compassion,  our  future  life  becomes  not  so 
much  a  thing  of  doubt.  It  is  when  we  dwell  only  in  dust 
that  dust  seems  all.  As  we  let  the  spirit  waken  and  rise 
to  God,  it  feels  its  kinship  with  his  eternal  nature,  till 
we  can  say  with  the  prophet,  "  Art  not  Thou  from  ever- 
lasting, O  Lord  my  God,  my  Holy  One'?  we  shall  not 
die."  It  is  not  always  that  we  can  realise  these  truths, 
but,  in  the  proportion  in  which  we  do,  we  feel  them  to  be 
the  power  and  blessedness  of  life.  If  we  have  not  learned 
them  at  all,  the  shadow  of  the  solemn  words  of  Scripture 
falls  from  this  world  upon  eternity,  "  Without  God,  with- 
out hope."  "  He  is  light,  and  in  Him  is  no  darkness  at 
all ;  "  but  without  Him,  the  future  is  "  a  land  of  darkness, 
as  darkness  itself."  The  only  way  to  have  the  hope  of  a 
blessed  immortality  is  to  have  something  in  our  souls 
which  we  can  reasonably  wish  to  be  made  immortal,  some- 
thing that  is  worthy  to  survive  death  and  earth  and  time ; 
that  is,  something  of  God  within  us  now.  As  we  live 
with  Him  here,  we  have  the  assurance  of  living  with  Him 
for  ever.  Where  He  gives  Himself,  He  gives  a  share  in 
that  eternity  which  is  his  home. 

We  have  thus  tried  to  show  what  a  complete  life  is,  and 
the  plea  that  is  here  presented  for  it.  It  is  complete  when  it 
secures  God's  favour,  when  it  does  Him  and  his  world  some 


32         PRAYER  FOR  A  COMPLETE  LIFE,  AND  ITS  PLEA. 

service,  whei]  it  yields  itself  up  with  submission  to  his 
call,  and  when  it  looks  forward  to  a  continued  life  with 
God.  For  this  last,  we  have  sought  to  examine  the  plea 
contained  in  God's  own  eternal  life,  suggesting  his  power 
to  grant  this  request,  his  immutability  to  secure  it,  his 
consistency  since  He  has  given  us  the  conception  of  it,  and 
his  Divine  compassion  when,  from  his  eternity,  He  has 
regard  to  our  short  and  troubled  life. 

Yet  we  would  not  leave  the  subject  without  saying  a 
word  about  the  full  answer  to  this  request.  We  have  been 
dealing  with  a  question  which  to  some  extent  involves  the 
answer  ;  and  it  is  well  that  it  should  be  put  in  every  point 
of  view,  in  order  that,  when  the  answer  is  finally  given,  it 
may  be  felt  to  be  sufficient.  This,  indeed,  may  be  one 
reason  why  God  left  the  wise  men  of  the  old  heathen 
world  to  deal  with  this  problem  on  a  mere  human  basis, 
and  why  He  put  it  in  such  different  ways  into  the  hearts 
of  his  ancient  saints  by  his  Holy  Spirit — "  If  a  man  die, 
shall  he  live  again  1  " 

It  was,  no  doubt,  to  fix  attention  on  the  great  answer, 
and  on  Him  who  has  given  it.  It  will  require  time  for 
this  answer  to  work  its  way  into  the  world's  heart,  as  it 
required  time  to  mature  the  question.  But  we  who  pro- 
fess to  be  Christians  should  feel  already  how  it  meets  the 
case.  Our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  has  appeared  "  to  abolish 
death,  and  bring  life  and  immortality  to  light  through  the 
Gospel."  His  earthly  history  shows  us  what  a  complete 
life  is,  a  life  led  in  no  imaginary  sphere,  but  amid  the 
duties  and  temptations,  the  pains  and  sorrows,  which  daily 
press  upon  us.  And  it  was  followed  by  a  death  which 
puts  us  in  a  position  to  aim  at  his  life.  When  we  receive 
it  in  its  divine  meaning,  "  the  Lord  our  Bighteousness,"  it 
covers  all  the  sinful  past  which  paralyses  our  endeavour, 
offers    us  a  free  pardon  that  we  may  serve   God  as  his 


PRAYER  FOR  A  COMPLETE  LIFE,  AND  ITS  PLEA.         33 

reconciled  children,  and  secures  that  Holy  Spirit  who  is 
the  Giver  of  life,  aud  who  works  all  our  works  in  us. 
And,  what  is  most  wonderful,  while  He  was  accomplishing 
all  this,  it  was  in  a  way  that  never  removes  Him  out  of 
the  reach  of  our  experience  and  sympathy.  He  was  per- 
forming a  work  beyond  our  power,  and  yet  walking  the 
path  we  have  to  tread.  The  cry  of  frail,  dying  man  in 
these  psalms  passed  through  his  heart  and  lips.  He  met 
death  in  the  midst  of  his  days,  felt,  as  truly  as  we  feel, 
its  forebodings  and  bitterness,  "  offered  up  prayers  and  sup- 
plications with  strong  crying  and  tears  unto  Him  that  was 
able  to  save  Him  from  death,  and  was  heard  in  that  He 
feared."  We  may  say  that  the  struggles  of  his  people  in 
past  ages  crying  for  eternal  life  were  breathed  into  them 
by  Christ's  own  Spirit,  and  that  then  He  entered  man's 
world  to  gather  these  prayers  into  his  own  heart,  and 
secure  their  answer.  The  Old  Testament  is  man  feeling 
after  God,  the  New  is  God  finding  man,  and  He  who  is  the 
Leader  in  both,  who  breathes  the  question  into  man's 
heart,  and  then  answers  it,  is  that  Eternal  Son,  "  whose 
goings  forth  have  been  from  of  old,  from  everlasting." 
And  now  the  sharer  of  our  dying  nature,  the  sympathiser 
with  its  cries,  the  bearer  of  its  sins,  has  become  the  Lord 
of  eternal  life.  "  Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go  1 "  Let  a 
man,  let  any  man,  come  in  humble  faith  and  cast  on  Him 
the  burden  of  guilt,  and  he  will  receive  a  divine  power 
from  Christ  himself  that  will  make  his  present  life  the 
beginning  and  the  pledge  of  an  everlasting  one.  Though 
the  beginning  be  small,  the  latter  end  shall  greatly  increase ; 
and  when  death  comes,  the  prayer,  "  0  my  God,  take  me 
not  away  in  the  midst  of  my  days,"  will  be  changed  into, 
"  Lord,  now  lettest  Thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace,  for 
mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation."  "  Lord  Jesus,  receive 
my  spirit." 

c 


III. 

THE  POWER  OF  CHRIST'S  ENDLESS  LIFE. 

"  Jnother  priest,  who  is  made  .  .  .  after  the  x>ower  of  an  endless 
life" — Heb.  vii.  16. 

One  of  the  chief  objects  of  this  Epistle  is  to  compare  the 
priesthood  of  Christ  with  that  of  Aaron  and  his  sons.  The 
points  of  difference  are  mainly  three.  The  first  is  in  the 
dignity  of  the  persons  invested  with  the  office.  Under 
the  Old  Testament  they  were  men  who  had  infirmity ; 
now  it  is  the  Son  of  God,  the  brightness  of  the  Father's 
glory.  The  second  is  in  the  duration  of  the  office.  The 
Old  Testament  priests  lose  their  office  when  they  die ;  to 
Christ  belongs  "  the  power  of  an  endless  life."  The  third 
difference  is  in  the  nature  of  the  sacrifice.  In  the  Old 
Testament  the  priests  made  atonement  only  in  figure; 
Christ's  atonement  is  real  and  efficacious.  "We  wish  to 
direct  attention  to  the  second  of  these,  to  what  is  said  of 
the  duration  of  the  office  of  Christ.  When  we  speak  of 
his  office,  we  do  not  confine  it  to  his  work  of  atonement. 
That  is  the  beginning  and  the  foundation ;  but  the  Epistle 
looks  at  it  as  rising  up  into  all  his  work  as  Mediator,  when 
"  He  is  entered  into  heaven,  now  to  appear  in  the  presence 
of  God  for  us."  His  atonement  is  connected  with  his 
work  as  a  Prophet  and  a  King,  as  the  Dispenser  of  divine 
knowledge  and  strength  ;  and  all  this  belongs  to  Him, 
"  after  the  power  of  an  endless  life."  This  endkss  life  is 
not  the  eternity  He  had  with  the  Father  before  worlds 
began  ;  it  is  his  endless  life  as  Mediator.  The  word  means 
an  indissoluble  or  indestructible  life,  safe  against  the  assault 

31 


THE  POWER  OF  CHRIST'S  ENDLESS  LIFE.  35 

of  all  enemies,  and  secure  from  all  decay,  or  possibility  of 
diminution.  It  may  be  said,  But  is  not  this,  after  all, 
the  same,  for  none  but  the  eternal  Son  of  God  could 
become  the  endless  Mediator  1  Yet,  granting  this,  it  leads 
us  to  a  different  point  of  view  for  contemplating  the  work 
of  Christ.  Do  we  not  feel  that  in  his  incarnation,  as  God 
manifest  in  the  flesh,  we  can  have  thoughts  about  God 
which  we  could  never  have  gained  from  the  study  of  the 
divine  nature  in  its  absolute  essence  1  And  so,  in  consider- 
ing the  endless  life  of  Christ,  we  may  rise  to  conceptions 
and  feelings  about  the  world  to  come,  and  our  share  in  it, 
which  we  could  not  receive  from  any  attempt  to  grasp  the 
idea  of  Christ's  original  and  eternal  nature.  In  his  own 
inherent  eternity  He  comes  forth  from  the  Father  on  his 
saving  errand,  enters  into  the  limits  of  the  finite,  takes  our 
nature,  dies  our  death,  rises  from  the  grave,  gathers  to  Him 
the  sons  whom  He  conducts  to  glory,  and  presents  Himself 
before  God  with  the  words,  "  Behold,  I  and  the  children 
whom  God  hath  given  me."  When  we  seek  to  look  back 
to  his  unbeginning  eternity,  we  are  lost  in  its  depths,  for 
we  have  no  such  existence  of  our  own,  and  we  have  not 
the  bond  of  his  human  nature  to  aid  us  in  our  thinking ; 
but  as  we  return  again  to  God,  and  advance  into  an  eternity 
to  come,  we  can  follow  Him  in  thought  as  the  Son  of  Man, 
and  we  can  conceive  of  a  continued  existence  of  our  nature, 
which  in  some  faint  way  resembles  his.  Since  God  has 
been  pleased  thus  to  help  our  thoughts  as  they  "  wander 
through  eternity,"  let  us  humbly  avail  ourselves  of  his  aid, 
and  try  to  see  in  what  way  there  is  a  power  for  our  help 
in  the  endless  life  of  Christ.  In  so  vast  a  subject,  we  can 
select  only  a  few  points. 

The  first  thought  is  the  power  which  this  endless  life 
has  of  communicating  itself.     The  very  idea  of  such  a  life 


36  THE  POWER  OF  CHRIST'S  ENDLESS  LIFE. 

brings  with  it  an  inspiration  of  hope.  Even  if  it  were  said 
that  the  idea  is  only  the  offspring  of  the  soul  of  man,  is  it 
not  a  ground  of  hope,  that  his  soul  has  the  power  of  form- 
ing such  ideas  1  To  conceive  of  eternity  is  so  far  to  be 
partaker  of  eternity.  We  share  what  we  see.  That  we 
should  be  able  to  think  of  a  life  like  our  own,  but  free 
from  all  the  impurity  which  attaches  to  us,  going  forward, 
age  after  age,  without  a  break  and  without  a  check,  rising 
and  widening,  a  joy  to  itself,  and  a  source  of  joy  to  others  : 
is  this  not  something  to  make  us  hopeful  about  the  soul  of 
man  1  There  is  no  creature  around  us  that  has  such  a 
power,  and  may  we  not  then  cherish  the  expectation  of 
something  corresponding  to  it  in  reality  1  But  if,  more- 
over, we  can  come  to  the  reasonable  conclusion  that  such 
a  life  really  exists  ;  that  One  of  the  race  has  risen  above 
the  power  of  death ;  that  He  gave  such  evidence  of  it  to 
those  who  were  about  Him  as  made  them  willing  to  endure 
any  extremity,  even  to  death,  for  this  conviction ;  if  He 
has  been  giving  proofs  of  it  since,  by  new  spiritual  life  in 
the  men,  and  new  moral  life  in  the  nations,  that  have  come 
into  contact  with  Him,  must  there  not  be  power  in  the 
faith  of  such  an  endless  life  1  Let  us  suppose  that  it  had 
been  otherwise ;  that  there  had  been  nothing  visible  in 
this  world  but  the  triumph  of  death,  no  sign  of  any  back- 
ward current  in  the  perpetual  and  overwhelming  flood 
which  sweeps  everything  to  one  gloomy  gulf ;  that  there 
had  been  nothing  in  human  history,  as  far  as  we  could  trace 
it,  which  gave  the  assurance,  or  even  the  hope,  of  a  re- 
trieval ;  could  we  have  stood  in  the  face  of  this  pauseless 
defeat  1  The  thought  of  God's  eternal  life,  if  we  could 
have  formed  it,  might  have  given  us  some  gleams  of 
expectation  ;  but  they  would  have  been  too  faint  to  have 
been  a  guide  for  action,  too  cold  to  have  inspired  us  with 
abiding  courage.     They  would  have  crossed  our  sky  like 


THE  POWER  OF  CHRIST'S  ENDLESS  LIFE.  37 

meteors,  brief,  fleeting,  scattering  themselves  in  dust,  when 
in  the  black  night  our  hearts  were  longing  for  a  day-star. 
And  so  we  can  say  to  any  of  those  who  are  hoping  for  an 
endless  life,  but  who  do  not  yet  believe  in  Christ,  Do  you 
not  think  it  a  probable  thing,  that,  if  God  meant  us  to 
have  a  hope  of  immortality,  He  would  give  us  some  such 
help  as  this  to  sustain  it  1  Is  there  not  a  mighty  power  in 
the  thought  of  the  endless  life  of  a  member  of  our  race  % 
There  is  one  grand  reversal,  the  force  of  which  all  men 
may  feel_one  standard  of  hope  lifted  up  in  front  of  the 
enemy  to  which  all  eyes  may  look  ;  where  the  faintest 
hearts  may  revive,  and  find  fortitude  for  the  last  struggle. 
I  think  that  if  it  were  meant  we  should  be  immortal,  some 
such  aid  as  this  would  be  granted  to  us. 

But  the  power  of  Christ's  endless  life  does  more  than  com- 
municate the  hope  of  it  to  others,  it  gives  the  possession. 
When  the  original  well  of  life  had  been  tainted  and  poisoned 
by  sin,  He  came  to  open  up  a  new  and  pure  fountain.  All 
the  figures  of  the  water  of  life  proceeding  from  the  throne  of 
God  and  of  the  Lamb,  of  the  tree  of  life,  of  the  bread  of 
life,  are  presented  to  us  in  truths  which  reveal  themselves 
to  our  souls  when  we  come  to  the  history  and  work  of 
Jesus  Christ.  He  secures  for  us  a  pardon  consistent  with 
righteousness,  without  which  it  could  have  brought  no  real 
life.  He  begins  a  new  life  in  the  soul,  which  has  hard  and 
manifold  struggles  with  the  fierce  reluctances  of  the  old  nature. 
He  encourages,  strengthens,  renews  it,  and  at  last  makes  it 
victorious.  All  this  He  does,  not  merely  by  presenting 
knowledge — "  This  is  life  eternal,  that  they  might  know 
Thee  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom  Thou  hast 
.sent,"— but  by  an  act  of  creation  through  the  Holy  Spirit. 
He  gives,  not  the  perception  or  hope,  but  the  possession  of  it. 
"  I  give  unto  them  eternal  life,  and  they  shall  never  perish." 

Now  we  may  begin   to   see  what  power  there  is   in 


38  THE  TOWER  OF  CHRIST'S  ENDLESS  LIFE. 

the  endless  life  of  Christ.  It  belongs  to  Him,  not  to 
reserve  it  for  Himself,  but  to  bestow  it  on  all  who  will 
take  it  from  his  hand,  who  do  not  shut  their  eyes  and 
steel  their  hearts  against  the  gracious  influences  that 
are  visiting  the  world  through  his  death  on  earth  and 
his  life  in  heaven.  But  in  order  to  this  He  must  have  a 
continued  life.  Had  it  been  merely  an  example,  a  system 
of  doctrine,  He  might  have  died  and  left  it  to  itself,  but 
for  a  power  He  must  live,  and  live  onward.  Men  are  being 
born  who  need  Him,  and  they  will  be  born  while  this  world 
exists,  men  who  have  sins,  sorrows,  temptations,  death; 
nothing  can  help  them — none  but  Christ  himself,  and  so 
He  must  have  the  power  of  an  endless  life.  And  even 
when  all  are  gathered  in  from  earth,  when  time  in  its 
present  form  is  closed,  and  another  kind  of  time,  an  eternal 
time,  begins,  He  will  be  needed.  He  will  be  the  Mediator 
between  the  unseen  God  and  man  for  ever,  through  whom 
they  see  God,  and  know  Him,  and  have  fellowship  with 
Him.  It  is  He  who  with  his  one  hand,  in  his  divine 
nature,  lays  hold  of  the  infinite,  and  with  the  other,  through 
his  human  nature,  makes  it  the  growing  possession  of  finite 
beings.  God  does  not  bestow  eternal  life,  here  or  here- 
after, from  his  own  absolute  and  unbroken  eternity ;  He 
puts  it  into  a  separate  and  accessible  channel.  He  causes 
his  own  infinite  existence  to  flow  out  into  the  endless  life 
of  Christ,  as  if  the  ocean  should  spring  up  amid  the  earth 
into  a  fountain,  and  be  "  a  well  of  life  to  all  them  that  find 
it."  But,  for  this,  the  great  High  Priest  of  humanity,  and 
may  we  not  suppose,  in  some  way  others  besides,  must 
have  the  power  of  an  endless  life. 

This  thought,  which  we  have  been  trying  to  express, 
contains  the  germ  of  all  we  can  say,  but  we  may  attempt 
to  unfold  it  in  some  of  its  applications.  Let  us  think  then 
of  the   power   Christ   has   in  his  endless  life  of  conveying 


THE  POWER  OF  CHRIST'S  ENDLESS  LIFE.  39 

knowledge  and  experience.  Death  is  the  one  great  barrier 
between  man  and  growth.  He  begins  to  cast  his  eyes 
about  him,  wonders  at  the  strange  features  of  things,  at 
the  stranger  problems  they  raise  ;  collects  some  facts,  forms 
or  half-forms  some  conclusions,  and  when  they  seem 
pointing  to  a  definite  end,  death  is  on  him,  and  he  has  to 
drop  the  thread  which  seemed  leading  him  into  some  open 
ground.  The  wonder  is,  that  with  this  life  men  have 
learned  so  much,  and  it  fills  us  with  regret  when  the  life 
which  has  gathered  all  this  disappears  in  mid-sea,  like  a 
ship  laden  with  gems  and  gold.  It  is  true  there  is  a  con- 
tinuous life  of  humanity,  of  which  some  speak  much.  The 
lower  creatures  have  no  power,  at  least  no  direct  power,  of 
transmitting  their  experience.  But  we  have  speech,  and 
books,  and  history,  by  which  wTe  become  the  heirs  of  the 
ages,  the  owners  of  the  thoughts  and  lives  of  the  mighty 
dead.  Past  humanity  may  live  in  us.  Yet  consider  how 
little  our  short  life  can  reap  from  that  growing  past.  As 
the  harvests  growr,  our  life  seems  to  shorten.  The  fields  of 
knowledge  are  so  wide,  that  they  fill  our  dwindling  years 
with  despair.  "  Life  how  short,"  we  say  with  the  old 
sage,  "  knowledge  how  long,"  or  with  the  speaker  in  the 
Book  of  Job,  "  We  are  but  of  yesterday,  and  know  nothing, 
because  our  days  on  earth  are  as  a  shadow."  What 
secrets  might  the  man  of  science  wring  from  the  bosom  of 
nature,  if  he  had  countless  years  in  which  to  put  his  ques- 
tions, and  mark  the  answers !  What  wisdom  might 
philosophers  gain  if  they  could  watch  for  ages  the  course 
of  thought  and  the  currents  of  emotion  !  But  what  wrecks 
lie  scattered  around  us  of  plans  scarcely  begun,  and  what 
noble  thoughts  have  passed  away  without  an  utterance ! 
We  do  not  say  that  there  are  no  compensations  for  these 
short  earthly  lives,  and  no  sufficient  reasons  for  this  sad 
check  to  our  fallen  nature  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge. 


40  THE  POWER  OF  CHRIST'S  ENDLESS  LIFE. 

Sometimes,  when  we  are  disappointed  and  weary,  we  get 
reconciled  to  the  pause,  and  are  glad  to  think  of  rest. 
But  when  the  soul  is  strong  and  wisdom  sweet,  the  con- 
eeption  of  endless  progress  in  knowledge  answers  to  some- 
thing very  profound  in  human  nature.  "We  recoil  from 
death,  not  merely  as  the  animal  recoils,  but  because  it  cuts 
us  off  from  answers  to  the  greatest  questions  the  spirit  can 
raise.  How  fitting  it  would  be  that  beside  the  tree  of 
knowledge  there  should  be  the  tree  of  life  !  And  this 
want  is  met  when  we  think  of  One  in  our  nature  with  the 
power  of  an  endless  life,  who  can  be  our  Leader  in  all  the 
paths  of  nature  and  providence  and  grace,  by  which  souls 
can  advance  in  the  wisdom  of  God. 

There  is  a  great  mystery  about  the  union  of  the  divine 
and  human  natures  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  But  the 
Scripture  makes  two  things  certain,  that  the  divine  nature 
was  there  in  its  endless  essence,  irradiating  the  human,  and 
that  the  human  nature  was  there  in  its  reality,  becoming- 
more  and  more  filled  with  the  divine.  He  grew  in  wis- 
dom on  earth,  and  yet  his  knowledge  never  had  error  in 
it ;  and  we  cannot  think  of  this  growth  as  ceasing,  else  we 
should  lose  in  Him  that  true  humanity  which  makes  Him 
the  Mediator  our  hearts  need.  It  is  not  a  growth  outside 
the  divine,  but  enclosed  in  it,  like  a  channel  embraced  by 
an  ocean,  and  ever  enlarging  to  convey  its  infinite  fulness. 
Our  short  human  lives  thus  come  under  the  conduct  of 
that  endless  life  of  Christ.  All  the  experience  which  He 
gained  in  his  own  earthly  life  is  carried  up  into  the  higher 
life,  and  with  it  all  the  experience  of  all  the  ages  since,  in 
his  contact,  through  the  Holy  Spirit,  with  doubt  and 
struggle  and  grief  in  the  lives  of  men.  Thus  Christ  is 
full  of  endless,  fresh  life  in  his  word,  so  that  we  find  it 
deeper  and  higher,  and  need  to  grow  up  to  it.  And  when 
we  pass  in  thought  from  this  side  of  death  to  those  who 


THE  POWER  OF  CHRIST  S  ENDLESS  LIFE.  41 

have  entered  into  the  immediate  presence  of  Christ,  we 
can  see  that  the  endless  life  of  Christ  has  its  relations  to 
them.  What  we  have  in  the  word  of  God,  they  have  in 
the  living  Christ.  We  may  apply  to  Him  the  words, 
"  The  lips  of  this  priest  keep  knowledge,  and  they  shall 
seek  the  law  at  his  mouth,  for  He  is  the  messenger  of  the 
Lord  of  Hosts."  But  to  be  their  teacher,  their  guide, 
their  example,  He  must  move  for  ever  before  them,  the 
divine-human  ever  ascending  as  the  Son  of  Man  to  loftier 
heights,  which  command  grander  visions,  and  penetrating 
into  deeper  fountains  of  godlike  joy,  and  realising  the 
ancient  description  of  Wisdom  which  foreshadowed  Him, 
"  when  He  was  with  God  as  one  brought  up  with  Him, 
daily  his  delight,  rejoicing  always  before  Him,"  but  also, 
"  rejoicing  in  the  habitable  part  of  his  earth,  and  having 
his  delights  with  the  sons  of  men."  Thus  He  comes 
forth  from  eternity  without  losing  it,  and  returns  again  by 
his  endless  life,  making  his  brethren  joint-heirs  of  his 
wisdom  and  experience,  and  fulfilling  the  promise,  "  The 
Lamb  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  shall  feed  them, 
and  lead  them  unto  living  fountains  of  waters." 

We  may  think,  next,  of  the  sense  of  unity  in  Christ's  plan, 
which  we  may  derive  from  the  "power  of  his  endless 
life."  Men  are  often  afraid  to  plan  extensively,  because 
those  who  follow  them  may  be  unable  or  unwilling  to 
carry  out  their  purposes.  The  prospect  of  death  narrows 
their  scope,  and  forces  them  to  snatch  at  near  results. 
But  God  has  been  pleased  that  the  greatest  enterprise  the 
world  contains  should  not  be  passed  from  hand  to  hand  ; 
it  is  not  to  flicker  to  and  fro  amid  the  gusts  of  grave- 
vaults,  but  to  be  in  the  power  of  an  endless  life.  There 
are  two  things  secured  for  the  unity  of  Christians  by 
Christ's  unending  life.  The  first  is  a  oneness  of  heart  and 
sympathy.     He  becomes  the  centre  of  a  common  affection, 


42  THE  POWER  OF  CHRIST'S  ENDLESS  LIFE. 

not  as  a  dead  abstraction,  but  as  a  living  person  who  draws 
them  all  to  Himself,  and  infuses  into  them  common 
feelings,  not  at  one  time  or  in  one  place,  but  through  all 
time,  and  in  all  places  ;  and  so  the  apostle,  speaking  of  the 
unity  of  the  Spirit,  puts  first  the  one  Lord,  and  then  the 
one  God  and  Father.  They  are  scattered  through  many 
generations  and  many  lands,  but  the  thought  of  an  abid- 
ing, living  Christ  makes  them  brethren  of  the  same  family, 
puts  into  their  heart  the  same  life-blood,  and  prepares 
them  for  dwelling  at  last  in  the  same  house.  It  is  by  the 
life  of  Christ  that  we  may  have  kindred  affections  with 
Paul,  and  John,  and  Isaiah,  and  David — may  understand 
them,  and  hope  and  rejoice  with  them.  So  powerful  is  it, 
that  it  goes  back  before  his  visible  coming,  and  like  the 
shadow  of  the  apostle,  has  its  quickening  effect  on  all  upon 
whom  it  falls.  Looking  forward  to  his  life,  they  shared 
it,  and  so  it  is  said,  "  They  did  all  drink  the  same  spiritual 
drink  ;  for  they  drank  of  that  spiritual  Eock  that  followed 
them  ;  and  that  Rock  was  Christ."  In  this  way  the  end- 
less life  of  Christ  fits  all  who  come  under  its  power  for 
being  "  fellow-citizens  with  the  saints,  and  of  the  house- 
hold of  God." 

The  other  unity  secured  by  this  endless  life  of  Christ  is 
that  of  action.  The  Christian  Church  grows  up  under  the 
hands  of  innumerable  labourers.  They  come  and  go,  and 
"  are  not  suffered  to  continue  by  reason  of  death  ; "  they 
have  their  own  views  and  temperaments,  and  portions  of 
the  building  bear  the  marks  of  it.  There  are  chasms  in 
the  walls,  raising  and  removing  of  scaffolding  in  dust  and 
noise,  to  the  perplexing  of  our  brief  lives.  In  the  midst 
of  all  this  there  are  minds  eager  for  unity,  and  ready  to 
take  whatever  seems  to  promise  it.  It  is  not  to  be  found 
in  any  ecclesiastical  despotism,  nor  even  in  the  outward 
gathering    of  faithful    men    under    one    discipline,    good 


THE  POWER  OF  CHBIST  S  ENDLESS  LIFE.  43 

though  this  may  be  in  its  place.  It  is  to  be  sought  in  the 
one  heart  of  which  we  have  spoken,  going  toward  Christ, 
and  then  in  the  overruling  plan  which  He  carries  out 
through  all  their  work.  We  might  have  had  confidence 
in  the  future,  from  the  conviction  that  God  knows  the  end 
from  the  beginning,  that  the  universe  is  not  an  experiment 
trying  all  ways  and  paths,  if  it  may  at  last  wander  into  the 
right ;  but  now  it  is  brought  closer  to  us,  and  as  it  were 
put  into  our  hand  when  we  can  think  of  the  infinite,  divine 
wisdom  presiding  over  it  through  Christ,  "  who  is  the 
same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever,"  "  putting  all  things 
under  his  feet,  and  giving  Him  to  be  head  over  all  things 
to  the  Church,  which  is  his  body."  Now  we  may  be 
sure  of  the  unity  of  the  plan,  and  sure  that  we  can  have  a 
part  in  it,  however  short-lived  and  short-sighted  we  are : 
if  we  have  any  share  in  his  life,  and  any  desire  to  promote 
it,  our  hand  will  be  guided  to  lay  a  stone  in  its  place, 
which  shall  enter  into  the  final  building.  What  lofty 
trustfulness  should  this  give  us  to  go  forward  in  hope  !  We 
have  over  us  the  promise  of  the  power  of  his  endless  life 
— "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world/'  and  we  can  present  the  prayer  with  confidence, 
"  Let  thy  hand  be  upon  the  man  of  thy  right  hand,  upon 
the  Son  of  man,  whom  Thou  madest  strong  for  tlryself. 
So  will  not  we  go  back  from  Thee."  Whatever  our  part 
in  the  work,  if  it  be  true,  the  plan  accepts  it,  "  both  he 
that  soweth  and  he  that  reapeth  shall  rejoice  together, 
and  gather  fruit  unto  life  eternal." 

Think,  moreover,  how  the  power  of  Christ's  endless  life 
may  fill  us  with  the  spirit  of  patience.  One  of  the  most  difficult 
things  in  the  Christian  life,  or  in  any  life,  is  to  work  energeti- 
cally and  yet  wait  patiently.  It  is  so  hard  to  keep  to  the  watch- 
word "without  haste,  without  rest."  Many  of  the  evil 
schemes  of  the  world  come  from  the  impatience  that  belongs 


44  THE  POWER  OF  CHRIST'S  ENDLESS  LIFE. 

to  short  lives.  Men  make  fevered  efforts  to  build  up  empires 
or  fortunes  in  blood  or  fraud.  Their  race  for  success  is  a 
race  with  death ;  the  grave  is  near,  and  they  must  have  it 
now.  Even  good  men  take  ill-advised  ways,  because  they 
are  anxious  for  speedy  results.  They  wish  for  something 
they  can  see,  "Let  thy  work  appear  unto  thy  servants.'' 
But  he  who  has  the  power  of  an  endless  life  will  not  only 
choose  no  ways  that  are  unrighteous,  he  will  not  be  hurried 
into  any  that  are  premature.  A  subject  that  causes  doubt 
with  many  is  the  slow  progress  of  justice  and  mercy  in 
the  world.  See  how  sanguinary  wars,  iniquitous  acts  of 
oppression,  great  national  vices  and  follies,  run  the  weary 
round.  There  is  progress  ;  yes,  there  is  progress  ;  Chris- 
tianity is  slowly  forming  a  moral  opinion  which  compels 
men  to  have  some  pretext  of  right  for  war,  and  it  is  send- 
ing its  messengers  of  healing  to  help  friend  and  foe  alike. 
But  how  tardy  in  its  approach  is  the  reign  of  righteous- 
ness and  peace  !  The  endless  life  of  Christ  is  a  source  of 
comfort  to  us.  He  could  very  soon  check  the  symptoms, 
but  the  disease  would  remain.  Have  you  considered  that 
war  between  man  and  man  is  the  result  of  the  war  between 
man  and  God  1  All  these  outbursts  are  the  insurrections 
of  the  evil  human  heart.  The  great  problem  is  to  put  down 
sin  not  merely  because  it  is  opposed  to  the  will  of  God, 
but  because  it  is  also  oj^posed  to  the  happiness  of  his 
universe ;  it  is  not  simply  a  contention  of  power,  but 
of  goodness,  and  this  needs  time.  The  endless  life  of 
Christ  gives  Him  patience  in  working  for  it,  bringing 
his  moral  and  spiritual  motives  to  bear,  and  using  his 
power  at  last  for  those  whom  no  motives  could  persuade. 

Within  Christ's  kingdom  of  the  church  we  need  the 
same  help  for  the  use  of  patience.  Materialistic  indiffer- 
ence comes  with  a  chilling  breath,  and  we  cannot  help 
feeling  it  in  the  atmosphere      It  is  painful  to  have  our 


THE  POWER  OF  CHRIST  S  ENDLESS  LIFE.  45 

life  cast  in  one  of  these  periods  of  reaction,  for  our  fears 
sometimes  mistake  the  backward  ripple  for  the  outset  of 
a  tide,  or  the  outset  of  a  tide  for  the  exhaustion  of  the 
ocean.  If  our  lives  were  long  enough  we  might  be 
re-assured.  These  reactions  have  their  term,  they  yield  to 
something  higher,  and  the  night  swings  round  to  a  brighter 
morning.  It  is  well  at  such  depressing  seasons  to 
remember  what  the  Psalmist  calls  "  the  years  of  the  right 
hand  of  the  Most  High " — the  lengthened  time  which 
God  takes  for  his  greatest  works.  He  is  patient  in  his 
earthly  life,  because  He  endured  the  cross.  He  looks 
behind  and  before,  and  not  only  sees  the  coming  tides,  but 
is  prepared  to  send  them. 

It  was  hope  not  only  for  his  own  life,  but  for  that  of 
Christ's  cause  when  it  was  hard  pressed,  that  made 
Stephen  say,  "  Behold,  I  see  the  heavens  opened." 

"  For  proof  look  up 
And  see  thy  lot  in  yon  celestial  sign." 

Or  perhaps  death  is  busy  among  us.  Men  engaged  in 
Christian  work,  and  apparently  indispensable,  are  suddenly 
called  away,  or  terrible  catastrophes  happen  which  make 
us  wonder  that  God  should  permit  them,  or  that  Christ 
does  not  interpose  to  prevent  them.  It  is  not  the  want  of 
compassion,  it  is  the  wide  and  far  vision  which  his  position 
gives  Him.  He  sees,  when  soldiers  are  falling  in  the 
front  of  the  battle,  that  there  are  reserves  at  hand  whom 
He  has  summoned.  And  in  the  sorest  trials  He  looks 
beyond  the  narrow  verge  of  the  suffering  to  the  enduring 
peace.  If  we  could  look  up  to  Him,  patient  amid  relapses 
and  losses,  not  from  want  of  feeling,  but  because  "  He 
himself  knows  what  He  will  do,"  it  would  calm  our  fears. 
"  He  that  believeth  shall  not  make  haste." 

The  last  remark  we  make  is  that  the  power  of  Christ's 
endless  life  opens  the  prospect  of  abiding  joy.     There  is  a 


46  THE  POWER  OF  CHRIST  S  ENDLESS  LIFE. 

philosophy  of  the  present  day  called  Pessimism,  which  holds 
that  life  is  so  entirely  wretched,  and  the  universe  so 
tainted  with  misery,  that  the  only  resource  possible  is  utter 
extinction.  It  proposes  in  various  ways  the  question, 
— Is  life  worth  living] — and  after  weighing  its  short 
pleasures  against  its  long  suffering,  it  concludes  that  non- 
existence for  men,  and.  if  it  could  be,  for  the  universe,  is 
the  desirable  goal.  There  is  no  likelihood  that  such  a 
theory  will  ever  make  much  way  among  healthy-minded, 
active  men.  Even  in  that  great  religion  of  the  East,  which 
sets  up  annihilation  as  the  last  aim  of  life,  it  is  remarkable 
how  far  forward  it  puts  it,  and  how  it  clings  to  various 
forms  of  existence  before  it  resigns  itself  to  sink  into 
nothingness. 

Nevertheless,  this  theory  of  despair  is  a  token  of  an 
atmosphere  around.  It  is  on  the  one  side  the  result  of  a 
materialistic  philosophy  in  which  "  earth  to  earth  "  is  the 
end  of  all,  and  it  is  on  the  other  side  the  outcome  of  self- 
indulgence,  when  it  has  become  wearied  of  superficial  and 
unsatisfying  things.  The  question — Is  life  worth  living  1 
must  be  answered  by  another — What  life  ]  There  are 
lives  which  are  not  worth  living  once,  and  the  one  token 
of  wisdom  in  these  theoretic  lives  is  that  they  seem  to  feel 
they  are  not  worth  being  continued.  If  those  who  put 
such  questions  would  only  be  led  to  widen  their  inquiry, 
they  might  find  that  there  are  other  balances  than  theirs 
in  which  the  pains  and  pleasures  of  life  are  to  be  weighed. 
When  we  come  to  the  emotions  of  the  soul,  the  measure  is 
not  by  quantity  but  by  quality.  There  are  moments  of 
joy  which  outbalance  years  of  toil  and  pain.  The  first 
glimpse  of  the  New  World  to  Columbus,  the  tremulous 
delight  which  seized  Newton  when  he  was  in  sight  of  the 
new  law  of  gravitation,  and  which  made  him  unable  to 
finish  the  last  figures  of  the  calculation — these  led  them  to 


THE  POWER  OF  CHRIST  S  ENDLESS  LIFE.  47 

forget  as  nothing  sleepless  nights  and  long  anxieties  and 
depressing  fears.     And  there  are  greater  things  than  these. 

The  joy  of  self-sacrifice  for  the  cause  of  truth  and  right- 
eousness has  been  to  some  men  more  to  be  chosen  than 
crowns  and  palaces,  and  has  made  flames  unfelt  as  if  He 
who  walked  in  the  furnace  of  Nebuchadnezzar  were  with 
them  in  the  fire.  This  is  the  joy  of  souls,  and  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  Lord  of  that  Kingdom  where  its  home  is 
fixed.  He  could  make  men  sing  in  perfect  calmness,  "  And 
not  only  so,  but  we  glory  in  tribulations  also  ; "  and  He 
gave  them  this  gladness  out  of  his  own  heart,  when  for  the 
joy  set  before  Him — the  joy  of  saving  men — He  endured 
the  cross,  despising  the  shame.  It  is  not  necessary  that  a 
man  should  rise  to  the  height  of  martyrs  and  apostles  to 
be  convinced  that  such  a  joy  exists  ;  let  him  but  forget 
himself  in  Christ's  spirit,  in  doing  good,  and  he  will  dis- 
cover that  there  is  a  life  in  life,  that  what  he  surrenders 
comes  back  to  him  in  gold  from  God's  own  treasure-house 
of  love  to  which  Christ  has  opened  the  door.  The  power 
of  his  endless  life  is  still  engaged  in  works  like  those 
which  occupied  Him  on  earth,  but  in  grander  measure  and 
in  wider  fields  ;  and  what  He  offers  to  all  who  will  accept 
it  is  a  joy  not  like  his,  but  a  joy  the  very  same  :  "  that  they 
might  have  my  joy  fulfilled  in  themselves."  It  is  the  joy 
of  knowledge,  of  purity,  of  holy,  happy  service  in  doing 
God's  will — in  self-sacrifice  itself  continued  in  self-forget- 
f nlness,  for  without  this  the  joy  of  heaven  would  be  less 
than  the  joy  of  earth. 

Will  you  turn  away  from  this,  and  refuse  Him  who 
is  speaking  to  you  from  heaven]  It  is  the  choice 
between  life  and  death.  He  who  has  the  power  of  an 
endless  life  can  make  you  blessed  only  by  your  receiving 
that  life  into  your  heart.  He  cannot  make  it  yours 
except  by  your  having  it  within  you.     God  can  make  no 


48  THE  POWER  OF  CHRIST'S  ENDLESS  LIFE. 

man  happy  save  in  Himself,  and  it  is  to  bring  yon  to  Him 
that  this  High  Priest  is  exalted  a  Prince  and  a  Saviour. 
How  sorrowfully  He  said  on  earth,  "  And  ye  will  not  come 
to  Me  that  ye  might  have  life  !  "  How  touching  his  words 
still!  Will  you  suffer  them  to  be  parting  words  1  "He 
that  sinneth  against  Me  wrongeth  his  own  soul  :  all  they 
that  hate  Me  love  death  !  " 

How  should  our  hearts  leap  up  in  gratitude  to  Him  who 
has  opened  such  a  way  to  life  eternal,  and  who  comes  to  us 
now  and  says,  "  I  am  the  way,"  who,  having  the  life  of 
eternity,  quitted  it,  that  through  death  He  might  have  the 
power  of  an  endless  life  for  men ;  and  how  should  our 
souls  bend  forward  more  than  ever  at  such  a  prospect,  to 
make  sure  that  we  are  in  the  road  !  "  Thou  wilt  show  me 
the  path  of  life ;  in  thy  presence  is  fulness  of  joy  I"  And 
should  we  not  bless  the  great  God  who  has  not  left  us  face 
to  face  with  the  infinite  and  eternal,  unaided  and  uncovered, 
but  has  given  to  us  this  life,  kindred  to  our  own,  which 
leads  us,  in  experience  and  patience  and  blessedness,  nearer 
to  Himself  as  we  are  able  to  bear  it  1  He  has  put  his 
hand  over  us — over  us  in  the  sky — as  the  poet  says, — 

"  On  all  his  children  fatherly, 
To  save  them  from  the  dread  and  doubt 
Which  would  be,  if  from  this  low  place, 
All  opened  straight  up  to  his  face 
Into  the  grand  eternity." 

But  He  covers  us  here,  more  safely  and  tenderly,  and 
yet  makes  a  way  open  through  the  heavens  into  the  holiest 
of  all. 


IV. 

INSTABILITY  :     SOME    OF    ITS     CHARACTERISTICS     AND 
CORRECTIVES. 

(FOR   YOUNG   MEN.) 

"  Unstable  as  water,  thou  shalt  not  excel." — Gen.  xlix.  4. 

When  we  speak  of  this  as  addressed  to  young  men,  we 
wish  to  take  the  word  men  in  that  larger  and  truer  sense 
which  includes  humanity.  There  is  much  being  done  in 
our  day  for  the  education  of  women;  and  man,  in  the 
limited  sense,  will  never  be  fully  educated  till  we  care 
with  equal  justice  for  man  in  the  larger  sense.  With 
equal  justice  does  not  mean,  however,  with  the  very  same 
apparatus,  and  towards  identical  ends.  God  has  given  to 
man  and  woman  a  common  nature  with  diversities,  in 
which  we  cannot  speak  of  higher  and  lower,  for  both  are 
equally  necessary  to  an  entire  humanity,  and  to  the  health 
of  the  family,  the  State,  and  the  Church.  In  regard 
to  what  is  common  in  their  nature,  they  should  have 
the  same  education,  and,  in  regard  to  what  is  different, 
the  same  impartial  provision  for  their  peculiar  faculties, 
remembering  that  all  faculties  are  given,  not  for  mere 
ornament  or  pastime,  but  for  service  in  the  cause  of  God 
and  man.  If  woman's  education  received  its  just  rights, 
she  would  become  not  less  woman  but  more,  and  men  would 
have  the  benefit  of  it  in  being  made  more  manly,  and  in 
the  mother,  the  wife,  the  sister,  the  daughter,  infusing  a 
higher  tone  into  all  the  relations  of  life.  Let  it  be  under- 
stood, then,  that  when  we  speak  of  man,  we  wish  to  keep 
in  view  the  larger  sense  of  our  entire  humanity. 

D 


50  INSTABILITY  :   SOME  OF  ITS 

The  aim  set  before  us  here  is  excellence,  by  which  we  do 
not  mean  a  rivalry  for  superiority  over  our  fellow-men,  or, 
indeed,  an  endeavour  at  distinction  in  any  way.  We  do 
not  stop  to  consider  whether  this  is  good  or  bad ;  we  shall 
try  to  think  rather  of  something  more  practical  and  Chris- 
tian, of  taking  up  that  position  and  doing  that  work  which 
God  designs  for  us,  and  which  He  has  a  right  to  require. 
This  is  the  noblest  of  all  ambitions,  and  here  every  man 
may  be  alike  successful.  There  need  be  no  jealousy,  for 
the  victory  of  each  is  the  gain  of  all.  Nor  are  we  deprived, 
in  this  aim,  of  the  stimulus  of  rivalry.  We  have  a  two- 
fold consciousness  within  us,  one  of  something  achieved 
and  past,  another  of  a  goal  to  be  reached  in  the  future. 
It  is  the  ability  to  hold  these  up  before  our  thought 
which  marks  us  out  from  all  other  creatures,  and  it  is 
Christianity  which,  above  all,  gives  the  power  of  making 
an  advance  to  the  highest  ideal,  "  leaving  those  things 
which  are  behind,  and  reaching  forth  unto  those  which  are 
before."  It  is  towards  this  excellence,  the  most  unselfish 
and  noble,  we  wish  to  urge  endeavour.  There  is,  however, 
one  fatal  enemy  to  this  excellence ;  it  is  instability.  A 
sorrowful  father  spoke  of  it  to  his  first-born  son,  in  the 
hope  that  it  might  still  rouse  him  :  "  Unstable  as  water, 
thou  shalt  not  excel."  There  are  few  of  us  who  have  not 
seen  more  than  one  friend  fail  in  life  through  this  defect. 
Some  young  men  have  begun  the  voyage  with  apparently 
everything  which  could  make  it  successful :  talent,  amia- 
bility, opportunity,  troops  of  friends ;  but  through  want  of 
a  fixed  point  to  steer  to,  or  a  steady  hand  on  the  helm, 
they  have  drifted  aimlessly  about,  or  made  utter  shipwreck. 
And,  on  the  other  hand,  some  poor,  friendless  youth  has 
advanced  to  eminence  and  honour,  not  through  help  from 
others,  nor  by  commanding  ability,  but  through  quiet, 
persistent  purpose,     There  is  a  secret  power   in  steady, 


CHARACTERISTICS  AND  CORRECTIVES.  51 

resolute  purpose  which  develops  faculties  before  unknown, 
which  seems  sometimes  to  supply  the  place  of  genius,  and 
almost  to  create  it ;  genius  itself  without  it  is  maimed  and 
helpless.  It  is  a  subject,  then,  of  very  great  importance, 
especially  for  the  young  who  have  habits  to  form ;  and  we 
shall  take  the  figure  employed  here  to  illustrate  it.  It  has 
been  variously  rendered  by  translators,  and  we  shall  not  try 
to  settle  which  of  the  renderings  may  have  been  in  the 
mind  of  the  speaker ;  we  shall  rather  take  different  aspects 
of  it,  most,  if  not  all,  of  which  are  to  be  found  in  other 
parts  of  the  Bible,  used  in  a  similar  way. 

I.  The  first  thing  which  strikes  us  in  the  instability  of 
water  is  that  it  has  no  cohesive  shape  of  its  own.  It  takes 
the  form  of  the  vessel  into  which  you  pour  it ;  it  changes 
one  form  for  another  without  resistance  ;  and  water  spilt 
on  the  ground  falls  asunder  and  vanishes.  Wood  and 
stone  keep  their  place  in  the  world,  and  may  rise  into 
enduring  structures,  but  what  can  be  built  out  of  water  ? 
This  suggests  the  first  defect  of  instability,  that  it  prevents 
a  man  gaining  an  independent  position  in  life.  There  is, 
indeed,  a  great  deal  of  false  talk  about  position,  as  if  the 
one  end  of  life  were  to  be  rich  and  distinguished.  It  is 
impossible  for  the  great  mass  of  men  to  succeed  in  this, 
and  therefore  God  has  not  made  our  happiness  or  useful- 
ness dependent  on  it.  But  there  is  a  true  position  in  the 
world  which  we  should  all  aim  at,  a  place  where  we  may 
stand  on  our  own  feet,  fill  our  own  sphere,  and  meet  all  the 
just  claims  which  come  upon  us  in  the  family,  in  friend- 
ship, and  in  society.  He  who  reaches  this  in  any  honest 
walk  in  life  "  excels ;  "  however  humble  his  position,  he  may 
stand  with  erect  head  among  the  highest.  But  it  cannot 
be  gained  without  some  measure  of  stability,  though  that 
measure  is  not  always  the  same.    Some  men  have  a  nature 


52  INSTABILITY  :   SOME  OF  ITS 

of  granite  which  holds  its  own  shape  anywhere,  the  cohe- 
sion of  the  quartz  crystal  which  can  be  crushed  but  not 
changed ;  others,  like  the  common  stone  which  may  be 
moulded  by  the  chisel  but  can  keep  the  form  it  takes. 
Both  of  these  have  their  uses,  but  the  lamentable  case  is 
when  a  man's  nature  is  entirely  fluid,  when  it  will  take  any 
shape,  and  keep  none.  When  a  man  is  constantly  leaving 
one  kind  of  occupation  for  another,  he  cannot  acquire 
power  for  any  one  ;  and,  next  to  immorality,  the  cause  of 
failure  in  life  may  be  found  in  some  feeble  hesitancy  in  the 
first  start,  or  want  of  steadiness  in  following  it  up.  These 
two  are  generally  connected.  Vacillation  in  the  start 
makes  itself  felt  in  the  course,  and  brings  that  per- 
plexity of  parents  and  misery  of  young  men — change  upon 
change.  Hence  the  supreme  importance  in  the  guides  of 
the  young  not  pushing  them  unduly  to  what  is  not  their 
bent,  and  in  young  men  themselves  not  yielding  to  first 
difficulties  wThen  they  have  made  their  choice.  If,  indeed, 
there  is  entire  instability  in  the  ground  of  the  character, 
it  is  very  difficult  to  deal  with,  and  if  men  were  under 
fixed  laws  of  nature,  the  case  might  be  incurable.  But 
nature  has  its  emblems  of  hope  even  for  this  indecision  j 
there  is  a  possibility  of  crystallising  water. 

II.  Another  thing  in  the  instability  of  water  is  the 
dicing ef  illness  of  its  reflection.  It  is  like  the  glass  of  which 
James  speaks,  where  a  man  sees  his  face  and  straightway 
forgets  it.  Look  at  the  water  in  an  outspread  lake.  It 
takes  sun  and  moon  and  stars  and  changing  seasons  into 
the  depths  of  its  confidence,  and  its  seeming  depths  are 
only  a  surface.  It  is  enamoured  of  every  passing  cloud, 
waves  back  a  recognition  to  every  tree  and  flower  which 
bends  to  it,  and,  when  they  withdraw,  drops  all  remem- 
brance of  them  to  take  up  the  next  impression,  or  to  fall 


CHARACTERISTICS  AND  CORRECTIVES.  53 

into  vacancy.  This  is  very  beautiful  in  nature,  but  very 
unhappy  in  men,  and  we  may  see  in  it  an  illustration  of 
how  instability  unfits  us  for  gaining  either  true  culture  or 
character. 

Let  us  think  of  culture.  It  is  regarded  sometimes  as  the 
chief  end  of  man,  and  in  the  shape  of  literature  or  science 
or  art,  it  is  the  religion  of  many.  Whenever  the  living 
God  is  put  out  of  sight,  and  humanity  takes  his  place, 
culture  is  the  worship  offered  to  the  idol.  Man  is 
never  so  vain  as  when  he  falls  down  at  the  shrine  of 
his  own  intellect.  But  true  culture  can  never  be  gained 
when  we  make  it  our  end.  We  must  seek  something  out 
of  and  above  self,  in  the  service  of  God,  and  the  good  of 
his  world ;  and  then  culture  gains  an  unconsciousness 
which  is  its  greatest  beauty.  When  we  have  given  God 
his  place  we  may  safely  seek  a  knowledge  of  his  works, 
an  acquaintance  with  whatever  is  true  and  good  and 
beautiful  in  the  thoughts  and  actions  of  man;  and  we 
may  wish  to  add  something  of  our  own,  in  our  own  way, 
for  the  world's  benefit.  The  humblest  mind  may  take  its 
own  shape  and  colour,  so  as  to  grow  up  into  a  distinct 
personality,  and  to  yield  its  contribution  to  the  family  or 
friendly  circle  of  which  it  is  a  part.  But,  for  this, 
stability  is  indispensable.  If  a  man  flits  from  one  branch 
of  reading  to  another,  without  concentration  or  discrimi- 
nation, his  mind  will  become  a  succession  of  dissolving- 
views,  or  a  collection  of  curiosities  without  plan  and  index. 
There  are  men  of  universal  knowledge,  Macaulays  and  Sir 
William  Hamiltons,  but  they  are  so  rare,  and  we  are  so 
unlikely  to  be  among  them,  that  it  is  better  to  leave  them 
out  of  count.  Even  these,  if  examined,  might  be  found 
to  have  gathered  their  multitudinous  learning  round  one 
strong  centre ;  and  therefore,  in  reading,  we  should  advise 
a  man  that,  while  he  makes  excursions  on  many  sides  to 


54  INSTABILITY  :    SOME  OF  ITS 

escape  narrowness,  he  ought  to  have  one  branch  to  which 
he  gives  himself  more  thoroughly  for  the  sake  of  exact- 
ness and  strength.  It  is  of  great  importance  to  have  a 
home  to  the  mind,  some  one  thing  which  we  feel  we  are 
sure  about ;  it  gives  the  mind  a  power  to  judge  of  other 
things  as  they  come  before  it.  In  these  days  of  journals 
and  magazines  and  incessant  talk  on  passing  topics,  it 
requires  nerve  to  push  through  the  daily  tide,  and  get  out 
into  the  depth.  But  we  should  be  impressed  with  the 
truth  that  reading  is  nothing  unless  it  lead  to  fixed  know- 
ledge, and  knowledge  little,  unless  it  helps  culture  — 
personal  growth — and  culture  little,  unless  it  is  given  to 
the  service  of  God  and  the  good  of  man.  Let  us  urge, 
then,  on  young  men,  and  on  young  women  too,  that,  while 
they  do  not  neglect  the  movements  of  the  day,  they  should 
always  have  on  hand  some  one  book  which  demands 
thought  and  repays  it.  We  must  try  to  deliver  society 
from  the  superficial  desultoriness  which  is  the  epidemic 
of  the  age,  and  we  must  try  to  rear  a  generation,  not  of 
echoes  and  talkers,  but  of  men  and  thinkers.  Each  of  us 
may  help,  with  some  little  grain  of  resolve  and  self-denial, 
and  we  shall  reach  a  far  higher  pleasure  in  such  bracing- 
exercise,  than  in  the  lax  feebleness  which  begs  only  for 
amusement,  and  looks  on  thought  as  torture. 

But,  besides  the  help  which  stability  gives  to  true 
culture,  there  is  the  question  of  character.  By  character 
we  do  not  mean  outward  repute  among  our  fellow-men,  but 
the  stamp  on  our  nature  that  marks  us  as  having  indivi- 
duality ;  this  is  the  proper  meaning  of  the  word.  A  man 
should  have  something  by  which  he  is  known,  and  differ- 
entiated from  others,  besides  his  name  and  his  address. 
Character  is  something  more  than  culture  ;  it  is  wider  and 
deeper ;  it  takes  in  a  man's  ways  of  feeling  and  acting  as 
well  as  thinking,  apart  from  the  spiritual  side,  of  which 


CHARACTERISTICS  AND  CORRECTIVES.  55 

we  do  not  here  speak.  In  this  sense  we  should  all  aim  at 
character,  for  this  means  that  we  should  bring  out  the 
special  nature  God  has  given  us,  that  we  should  be  our- 
selves, and  not  lost  like  a  blade  of  grass  in  a  field.  We 
were  not  made,  as  hundreds  seem  to  think,  to  be  dreary 
transcripts  of  the  fashion  round  us,  leaves  in  children's 
copy-books,  written  over  and  over  with  the  same  dull 
commonplaces.  It  is  a  wonderful  relief  to  escape  from 
society  of  this  kind,  and  to  get  among  people  who  have 
their  own  natural,  independent  way  of  looking  at  things. 
Even  a  crotchet  or  a  quaintness,  if  it  has  no  sting  in  it,  gives 
us  pleasure  in  a  man,  because  it  creates  an  interesting 
personality,  as  a  straw  gathers  amber  round  it.  It  is  a 
poor  enough  affectation,  and  soon  wearies  us,  when  it  is 
consciously  cultivated  ;  but  personal  character  founded  on 
some  firm,  intelligent  principle  is  necessary  to  our  having 
any  place  in  the  world's  estimate,  or  to  our  doing  any 
great  good  in  it.  There  has  always  been  danger  of 
gregarious  or  mob  life — the  mob  of  the  drawing-room  as 
well  as  the  mob  of  the  street — and  from  certain  causes  it 
is  increased  in  our  time.  Thousands  who  believe  that  "  the 
customs  of  the  people  are  vain  "  give  in  to  them  because 
they  are  afraid  of  losing  the  countenance  of  their  class. 
It  is  one  of  the  difficulties  about  man's  immortality,  when  we 
see  multitudes  in  whom  there  appears  to  be  no  personality 
to  be  continued,  and  who  pass  their  life  in  the  crowd 
of  beetles  burrowing  in  the  earth,  or  of  butterflies  beating 
the  air.  To  build  up  in  this  world  a  true,  fixed  character 
is  to  contribute  a  proof  for  another  world.  If  you  wish  to 
form  such  a  character,  there  are  two  things  to  be  remem- 
bered. The  one  is  common  sense,  which  will  let  you  see 
the  great  landmarks  of  the  true  and  good,  and  save  you  from 
being  drifted  into  a  one-sided  eccentricity,  under  the  name 
of  independence.     The  other  is  conscience,  which  will  bring 


56  INSTABILITY  :   SOME  OF  ITS 

you  under  the  light  of  the  higher  law,  and  give  you  firm- 
ness to  follow  it.  With  these  two  a  man  may  steer  his 
course  between  the  opposite  shores  of  eccentricity  and 
fashion,  and  unfold  his  own  nature.  And,  as  we  spoke  of 
studying  some  one  book  in  order  to  mental  culture,  we 
may  say  that  there  is  pre-eminently  one  book  for  the 
formation  of  a  strong,  independent  character.  We  speak 
of  the  Bible  at  present  merely  as  a  book  among  others ; 
but  we  dare  to  say  that  not  all  others,  if  used  without  it, 
will  give  the  individuality  and  power  which  it  will  give 
alone.  Take  the  populations  in  centuries  and  countries 
where  it  has  been  a  sealed  book,  and  compare  them  with 
those  among  whom  the  Bible  has  been  the  people's  coun- 
sellor and  charter,  and  mark  the  difference.  It  has  given 
to  its  readers  the  marrow  of  lions  and  the  intelligence  of 
men,  indomitable  love  of  liberty  with  regard  for  the  rights 
and  liberties  of  others  ;  and  history  has  so  far  shown  that 
freedom  and  order  are  not  long  possible  in  a  country  where 
the  Bible  has  lost  its  creative,  and,  at  the  same  time,  its 
controlling  power.  What  it  is  to  a  nation,  it  must  be  to 
a  man.  It  gives  the  firmness  to  conscience  which  is  at  the 
basis  of  all  true  character,  and  it  educates  the  common 
sense  which  is  referred  to  in  its  own  saying,  "  A  good 
understanding  have  all  they  that  do  his  commandments." 
Whatever  other  books  you  read  for  breadth  and  height  of 
culture,  remember,  for  your  character,  to  be  '  men  of  the 
one  Book.' 

III.  A  third  thing  we  mention  in  the  instability  of 
water  is  thatit  inspires  distrust.  We  may  take  here  for  our 
example  water  in  the  sea,  "  the  troubled  sea,"  as  the  prophet 
names  it,  "  which  cannot  rest."  You  know  how  calm  the 
sea  may  look,  like  a  sleeping  child,  and  to  what  rage  and 
havoc  it  can  be  roused.     Its  very  calm  has  danger  ;  there 


CHARACTERISTICS  AND  CORRECTIVES.  57 

are  hidden  rocks  under  the  smoothness,  and  treacherous 
currents  which  wind  like  serpents  round  those  who  trust 
them.  Before  we  are  aware,  it  ruffles  to  the  breeze,  and 
swells  into  the  storm;  and  the  Bible,  to  picture  the 
perfect  security  of  heaven,  says,  "  There  shall  be  no  more 
sea." 

This  illustration  reminds  us  that  instability  destroys 
our  power  for  influence.  What  men  cannot  reckon  on  they 
will  not  trust;  they  must  know  where  they  will  find  a 
man  to-morrow,  if  they  are  to  walk  and  work  with  him 
to-day.  And  so  nothing  isolates  a  man  more  for  action 
than  unsteadiness  of  purpose ;  no  talents,  nor  amiability, 
nor  even  purity  of  intention  can  make  amends.  There  is 
a  kind  of  respect  for  the  man  who  goes  on  resolutely  in  a 
mistaken  course,  but  only  contempt  for  him  who  is  always 
wavering  in  the  right.  If  we  would  have  influence,  we 
should  bear  in  mind  that  the  world  is  governed  not  so 
much  by  men  of  talent  as  by  men  of  will.  Some  may 
think  very  little  of  the  importance  of  influence ;  but,  in 
whatever  sphere  we  are,  our  influence  is  the  measure  of 
our  power  for  good.  It  is  the  accumulated  capital  of  a 
good  man,  impalpable  but  real,  and  often  more  precious 
than  gold.  We  have  seen  it  growing,  as  a  shadow  grows 
with  a  tree,  longer,  broader,  deeper,  till  it  becomes  a 
shelter  and  solace  to  all  about  it.  The  very  look,  the 
thought  of  these  men  gives  a  sense  of  confidence  to  people 
in  perplexity.  They  are  to  be  found  in  all  ranks  and 
classes,  and  society  could  not  exist  without  them.  They 
are  the  binding  stones  in  its  walls,  and  our  homes  are 
more  indebted  to. them  than  to  the  carved  top-stones  which 
the  multitude  admire  ;  or,  to  borrow  from  the  present 
illustration,  they  are  the  steadfast  lighthouses  on  the  shore 
of  the  unstable  sea,  doing  more  for  the  world's  good  than 
the  flashing  meteors  which  burn  themselves  out  in  the 


58  INSTABILITY  :    SOME  OF  ITS 

higher  air.  It  is  a  just  ambition  to  be  a  quiet,  fixed  light 
for  some  few  souls  around  us ;  and  when  excellence  is 
weighed  by  Him  who  holds  the  balance,  it  will  receive 
its  due,  "  Thou  hast  been  faithful  over  a  few  things,  I  will 
make  thee  ruler  over  many  things." 

But  this  word  influence  will  be  better  understood  by 
some  if  we  connect  it  with  friendship.  There  are  men  who 
pass  through  life  and  never  have  more  than  acquaintances. 
They  touch  other  men  only  on  the  outside — speak  to  them 
at  the  door.  We  do  not  mean  to  say  that  acquaintances 
are  of  no  use  in  life.  One  sometimes  gains  glimpses  of 
things  which  are  happening,  and  handles  them  in  an  easy 
way  as  he  could  not  do  through  friends.  But  this  we  say, 
that  to  any  complete  nature  acquaintances  can  never 
supply  the  want  of  friends— of  those  to  whom  we  can  un- 
bosom ourselves  and  speak  in  confidence.  Books  speak  to 
us,  but  we  cannot  speak  to  books.  We  can  speak  to  God, 
but  there  are  times  when  we  need  help  to  do  it.  In 
seasons  when  we  are  disappointed  by  the  emptiness  or 
shaken  by  the  falseness  of  the  world,  we  feel  as  if  we  lost 
our  hold  even  on  God.  A  true  heart  in  a  fellow-man  is  an 
anchorage  at  such  a  time,  for  we  ask  ourselves — Where 
could  this  heart  come  from  1  Could  there  be  brethren  if 
there  were  no  Father  1  There  are  some  who  have  said 
that  the  New  Testament  discourages  friendship,  or  at  least 
passes  it  by.  But  can  we  forget  that  the  Son  of  God,  when 
He  was  on  earth,  drew  men  close  k>  his  heart  and  said, 
"  Henceforth  I  call  you  not  servants,  but  I  have  called  you 
friends  ;  "  that  He  carried  them  with  Him  into  his  last 
struggle,  and  felt  strengthened  by  their  affection — "  Tarry 
ye  here  and  watch  with  Me  "  %  To  have  true  friends  is  to 
have  the  greatest  help  in  the  world,  out  of  God ;  and  to  be 
a  friend  is  to  have  the  greatest  influence  for  good  to  the 
heart  which  trusts  us.     Every  young  man  would  wish  to 


CHARACTERISTICS  AND  CORRECTIVES.  59 

have  true  friends ;  but  here  is  one  indispensable  requisite, 
stability.  The  penalty  of  fickleness  is  that  it  can  never 
have  friends. 

We  should  aim  at  steadfastness  of  character,  for  this 
reason  if  for  no  other,  and  when  we  have  found  it  in  another 
we  should  forgive  many  faults  for  its  sake.  u  Thine  own 
friend  and  thy  father's  friend  forsake  not."  Do  not 
lightly  break  ties  which  cannot  perhaps  be  formed  again 
in  all  the  days  and  years  to  come ;  and  value  them  as  a 
divine  gift,  when  you  feel  that  they  have  some  union  in 
a  divine  principle.  This  is  the  way  to  find  the  help  of 
which  the  wise  man  speaks  :  "  There  is  a  friend  that 
sticketh  closer  than  a  brother." 

IV.  The  last  thing  we  mention  in  the  instability  of 
water  is  that  it  is  ready  to  move  any  way  but  upward.  Take, 
for  this,  water  in  a  river.  It  flows  on,  sparkling  and  pleas- 
ant, plays  with  the  nodding  flowers,  meets  a  rock  and 
turns  from  it  to  a  rippling  eddy,  finds  some  opening  in  its 
bank  and  wanders  through  a  meadow.  But  it  may  happen 
that  the  eddy  plunges  into  a  gulf  or  the  meadow  stagnates 
into  a  marsh,  and  the  river  makes  no  choice.  It  descends, 
but  it  cannot  rise  to  its  source  ;  and  it  illustrates  this 
most  serious  defect  of  instability,  that  it  unfits  a  man  for 
a  successful  endeavour  after  the  higher  life.  We  see,  every 
day,  such  natures,  open  and  amiable  but  ruled  entirely  by 
the  world  of  circumstances,  allured  by  pleasant  opportunity, 
repelled  by  the  need  of  self-denial,  and  incapable  of  a 
decided  choice.  They  follow  the  prevalent  course,  and  the 
prevalent  course,  unhappily,  is  downward.  There  are 
more  ruined  by  this  fatal  weakness  of  will  than  by  a  posi- 
tive bad  purpose,  at  least  in  the  beginning.  But  then  let 
it  be  remembered  that  failure  to  decide  for  God  is  more 
than  a  man's  misfortune  ;  it  is  his  sin.     When  rebels  have 


60  INSTABILITY  :   SOME  OF  ITS 

risen  against  the  rightful  King,  it  is  treason  to  stand 
neutral.  There  was  a  time  when  simple  indecision  did  not 
commit  a  man — the  time  when  the  first  temptation  offered ; 
though  even  then  a  bold  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan,  would 
have  been  the  best  answer  to  the  seducer  ;  but  that  time  is 
long  gone  by,  and  he  who  does  not  resist  is  in  the  power 
of  the  tempter.  If  any  one  thinks  this  is  hard,  let  him 
reflect  that  it  is  the  rule  in  other  things.  The  sailor  does 
not  complain  that,  if  he  sits  still,  the  tide  will  carry  his 
ship  on  the  rocks,  or  the  farmer  that  weeds  will  be  his 
only  harvest,  or  the  merchant  that  his  balance  will  be  on 
the  side  of  ruin.  It  is  the  law  of  life,  and  how  should  it  be 
otherwise  in  the  concerns  of  the  soul  ?  There  is  only  this 
difference,  that  the  issues  are  more  momentous  ;  and  in  a 
world  fallen,  and  flooded  with  evil,  the  choice  should  be 
more  intense.  And  so,  when  we  read  the  Bible,  we  find 
that  its  supreme  object  is  to  press  decision.  It  does  not 
occupy  itself  with  speculation,  it  leaves  curious  questions 
aside  and  places  itself  right  across  our  road  with  its  chal- 
lenge, "  Choose  ye  this  day  whom  ye  will  serve."  Pass 
your  finger  down  the  Old  Testament,  and  you  meet  "  thou 
shalt  "  and  "  thou  shalt  not "  at  every  turn.  And  in  the 
New  Testament  the  fervid  rush  of  compassion  never  rises 
to  such  power,  or  melts  to  such  pathos,  as  when  the  Son  of 
God  wrestles  with  the  will  of  man.  What  an  earnestness 
in  his  words,  "  Strive  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate ! " 
"  The  kingdom  of  heaven  suffereth  violence,  and  the  violent 
take  it  by  force."  And  what  grief  at  failure  when  He 
looked  with  love  on  the  young  man  who  hesitated  in  the 
great  choice,  and  missed  it !  This  is  the  strangest  thing 
about  man's  will,  that  it  should  have  power  to  refuse  God ; 
and  this  is  the  saddest,  that  its  indecision  can  bring 
on  itself  such  infinite  loss. 

It  would  be  wrong  if,  after   speaking  of  the   evils  of 


CHARACTERISTICS  AND  CORRECTIVES.  61 

instability,  we  were  to  close  without  saying  something 
about  its  correctives,  and,  if  possible,  its  cure.  There  are 
some,  among  whom  John  Foster  may  be  reckoned,  who 
seem  to  look  on  indecision  as  incurable.  If  it  were  so,  it 
would  be  one  of  the  most  melancholy  things  in  human 
life,  that  the  power  of  will  should  be  all-important,  and 
that  multitudes  should  be  shut  out  from  acquiring  it. 
But  can  this  be  true  1  There  are  many  things  which 
nature,  or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  God  has  put  beyond 
our  reach.  No  amount  of  resolve  or  endeavour,  with  the 
age  of  an  antediluvian,  could  make  a  man  a  Rajmael,  or 
a  Beethoven — could  enable  him  to  discover  the  law  of 
gravitation,  or  write  the  Paradise  Lost.  The  sooner  we 
realise  this  truth  the  better  for  the  cure  of  a  feeble  will, 
and  the  more  cordially  we  acquiesce  in  God's  gifts  to 
others,  the  happier  we  shall  be.  But  the  things  essential 
to  our  life,  not  as  artists  or  poets  but  as  men,  are  within 
our  power,  and  growth  in  decision  is  one  of  them.  It  is 
true  there  is  an  original  force  of  concentration  possessed 
by  some  which  is  like  genius,  and  a  man  who  starts  with 
an  unstable  will  can  never  overtake  it ;  it  is  true  also  that 
the  cure  of  instability  must,  in  general,  be  indirect  and 
gradual,  must  be  reached  rather  by  sap  and  mine  than  by 
assault ;  but  with  these  deductions  there  is  almost  no 
faculty  in  which  it  is  more  possible  to  make  advance. 
Let  this  be  settled  first,  then,  that  indecision  has  not 
written  above  it,  Leave  hope  behind. 

We  shall  ask  this,  next,  that  there  be  a  sincere  desire  to 
escape  from  this  defect  where  it  is  felt.  We  are  surely 
not  asking  too  much ;  for  God  has  made  man  reasonable 
that  he  may  learn  his  wants  and  wish  for  a  remedy.  The 
understanding  can  turn  round  and  examine  the  will,  and 
act  upon  it.  Something  has  been  gained  already  if,  while 
we  have  been  reviewing  the  miseries   of  instability,  any 


62  INSTABILITY  :   SOME  OF  ITS 

one  has  been  convinced  and  convicted,  and  brought  to 
reflect  on  the  remorse  which  will  be  felt  when  the  empti- 
ness of  a  useless  day  has  been  carried  on  to  the  end  of  all 
the  days  in  a  useless  life.  Should  any  one  have  reflected 
on  it  thus  far,  he  may  be  induced  to  begin  "  on  reason  to 
build  resolve,  the  column  of  true  dignity  in  man."  To 
build  resolve  is  not  to  create  it ;  to  build  is  a  gradual,  often 
a  painful  process ;  but  let  a  man  say,  '  I  shall  spare  no 
pains  for  such  a  work,  it  carries  in  it  the  meaning 
and  end  of  my  life  •  I  shall  begin  by  laying  a  stone 
this  day,  a  determined  I  mil,  and  I  shall  seek,  day  by 
day,  to  add  another ! '  If  this  is  sincerely  done,  there 
is  something  gained ;  if  it  is  deferred,  there  is  so  much 
lost. 

The  next  thing  to  be  said  is  that,  in  arriving  at  decision, 
a  man  should  seek  to  ascertain  what  he  is  capable  of ;  and 
this  he  may  do  by  some  reflection,  by  counsel  well  taken, 
and  by  trial ;  if  he  despises  all  these,  he  is  in- a  bad  way. 
Many  grow  into  instability  by  undertaking  things  impos- 
sible to  them,  or  by  grasping  too  quickly  at  things  which 
are  possible.  They  take  two  steps  where  they  should 
take  one,  and  are  thrown  back  and  discouraged,  till  their 
life  is  a  history  of  great  conceptions  and  weak  endeavours. 
The  secret  of  success  is,  as  far  as  may  be,  to  succeed  at 
first — to  measure  our  strength  with  our  enterprise,  and  to 
leave  behind  a  sense  of  thoroughness.  Though  it  be 
small,  it  gives  us  courage,  and  carries  us  on ;  if  there  is 
ease  in  idleness,  there  is  an  impulsive  pleasure  in  every 
successful  effort.  At  the  same  time,  it  should  be  said  that 
failure  ought  not  to  be  taken  as  defeat.  It  is  a  reason  not 
for  giving  up,  but  for  trying  it  in  another  way,  or  at  least 
by  a  better  measurement  of  means  to  end.  The  Lord  has 
said  that  we  should  forgive  our  brother  "  until  seventy 
times  seven."     We  do  not  say  that  we  should  be  so  ready 


CHARACTERISTICS  AND  CORRECTIVES.        63 

to  forgive  ourselves,  but  we  should  be  determined  in  God's 
strength  not  to  despair  of  ourselves. 

There  are  helps  in  this  struggle  with  indecision  which 
it  may  be  good  to  mention.  One  of  the  first  is  method  or 
system.  There  are  some  who,  having  heard  of  the  wonder- 
ful power  of  method,  begin  by  reducing  their  whole  life  to 
a  plan,  and  mark  out  work  for  every  day  and  hour.  They 
generally  fail  for  a  reason  already  stated  :  they  attempt 
too  much.  Such  a  rigid  division  of  life  can  scarcely  be  a 
good  rule  for  any  man,  and  certainly  it  is  not  the  best  for 
beginning  the  cure  of  instability.  Kather  let  there  be 
some  one  thing  resolved  on,  with  room  for  freedom  round 
it,  and  this  one  thing  will  give  its  character  to  the  rest. 
A  particular  time  set  apart  for  mental  and  spiritual  im- 
provement, and  maintained  against  all  lower  claims,  will 
have  a  wonderful  effect  in  steadying  the  whole  character. 
It  throws  its  influence  back  and  forward,  and,  like  the 
little  leaven,  leavens  the  whole  lump.  Try  method  at  first 
in  this  simpler  way,  bearing  on  some  one  thing  which  you 
feel  will  be  a  gain  to  you  in  your  walk  in  life,  and  you  will 
soon  feel  the  benefit  of  it.  Acts  pass  over  into  habits, 
habits  become  pleasures,  and  as  soon  as  we  have  pleasure 
in  self-control,  the  victory  is  won.  Another  help  is  found 
in  our  associations.  It  sometimes  happens  that  the  sight 
of  some  miserable  case  of  indecision  is  a  corrective  to  a 
witness  of  it,  but  he  will  not  gain  much  by  keeping  its 
company.  The  strength  of  the  weak  is  in  the  society  of 
the  strong,  or  of  those  at  least  who  are  seeking  strength. 
We  can  allow  ourselves  liberties  with  our  own  rules, 
which  we  should  be  ashamed  of  when  we  are  under 
obligation  to  others.  The  necessity  of  taking  a  share  in 
the  common  work,  and  of  punctually  meeting  engage- 
ments, will  have  an  effect  on  every  young  man  who  has 
a  sense   of  self-respect.     It  is  what  discipline  and  the 


64  INSTABILITY  :    SOME  OF  ITS 

presence  of  his  comrades  are  to  a  soldier,  enabling  him 
and  them  "  to  breathe  united  force  " — a  picture  which  the 
apostle  has  before  him  when  he  says,  "  Joying  and  be- 
holding your  order  (tactical  array),  and  the  steadfastness 
of    your   faith    in    Christ "  (Col.    ii.    5).     The  Christian 
Church  was  intended  by  its  author  to  give  this  aid  to  the 
weakness  of  the  single  will ;  and  every  congregation  in  it 
should  have  its  associations  suited  for  different  tempera- 
ments and  wants,  for  personal  improvement  and  quicken- 
ing, for  common  action  in  doing  good,  where  the  feeble 
would  find  a  place  of  shelter,  and  the  solitary  a  home  and 
friends.     There  is  no  society  in  the  world,  none  even  that 
can  be  conceived  of,  which  has  the  motives,  the  influences, 
and  the  opportunities   for   strengthening  the  young,  like 
to   a   Christian  Church,   if  it  is  rightly  organised, — for 
carrying  out  the  mission  "  of  healing  that  which  is  sick, 
binding  up  that  which   is  broken,   bringing   again  that 
which  is  driven  away,  and  seeking  that  which  is   lost." 
How  weak  we  are,  nay  sinful,  that,  with  such  a  power, 
we  make  so  little  use  of  it ;  and  therefore  every  Christian 
Church  should  be  more  active  in  opening  doors  of  shelter 
all   round.      Wherever    they  exist,  let    young    men  join 
them,  and,  where  they  do    not,  let  them    create    them, 
though  they  begin  with  two  ;  "  for  if  they  fall,  the  one  will 
lift  up  his  fellow  :  but  woe  to  him  that  is  alone  when  he 
falleth  ;   for  he  hath  not  another  to  help  him  "  (Eccles. 
iv.  10).     We  do  not  contradict  this  when  we  say,  besides, 
that    a    young   man  may   gain    strength    of  will  among 
adversaries,  the  strength  which  comes  from  an  early  and 
manly   stand.     There    is  sometimes    a   single  test  which 
decides  his  future.     Should  he  from  self-interest,  or  fear 
of  a  sneer,  belie  his  convictions,  he  is  at  a  double  dis- 
advantage ;  he  has  weakened  his  own  moral  nature,  and 
given  a  weapon  to  his  tempters— has,  so  to  speak,  lost  his 


CHARACTERISTICS  AND  CORRECTIVES.  65 

own  shield,  and  sharpened  their  swords.  But  if  he  stand 
firm,  he  has  a  double  help;  he  is  stronger  within,  and 
covered  by  his  consistency.  Duty  and  interest  alike 
advise  a  young  man,  in  the  workshop  or  counting-house 
or  any  company,  to  take  his  stand,  quietly  but  firmly,  at 
first.  If,  like  Daniel,  he  find  himself,  for  his  fear  of  God, 
in  a  den  of  lions,  their  mouths  may  not  be  shut,  but  he  will 
have  their  secret  homage,  and  they  will  not  only  be  kept 
from  hurting  him,  but  be  made  to  help  his  character  to 
higher  power  :  "The  righteous  also  shall  hold  on  his 
way,  and  he  that  hath  clean  hands  shall  be  stronger  and 
stronger  "  (Job  xvii.  9). 

We  should  like,  in  closing,  to  say  that,  besides  the  young, 
this  question  appeals  specially  to  parents.  It  was  a  father 
who  made  this  sorrowful  complaint  over  his  first-born  son, 
more  sorrowful,  perhaps,  because  he  saw  in  him  some  of 
the  features  of  his  own  early  inconsistency.  Parents  can 
do  much  to  give  stability  to  their  children  by  their  own 
firm  resolve  :  "  I  will  walk  within  my  house  with  a  perfect 
heart ; "  and,  next,  by  their  wise  and  tender  treatment  of 
them,  not  forcing  them  to  that  for  which  they  are  unfitted, 
and  so  bringing  a  recoil ;  watching  where  the  character  is 
weak,  that  they  may  strengthen  it,  and  urging  the  most 
touching  of  all  motives  from  their  own  experience  :  "  My 
son,  know  thou  the  God  of  thy  father,  and  serve  Him  with 
a  perfect  heart,  and  with  a  willing  mind." 

But  the  last  word  of  all  must  be  to  those  who  are 
growing  up  to  manhood  and  womanhood.  It  is  on  the 
character  formed  at  this  stage  that  the  happiness  and 
usefulness  of  life,  as  a  rule,  depend.  In  all  that  we  have 
said,  the  thought  has  been  present  that  successful  endea- 
vour must  be  made  in  the  strength  of  God.  It  must 
begin  and  go  forward  in  the  spirit  of  Augustine,  "  Com- 
mand what  Thou  wilt,  but  give  what  Thou  commandest ;" 

E 


QQ  INSTABILITY  :   SOME  OF  ITS  CORRECTIVES. 

and  this  came  to  him  from  a  higher  speaker,  "  Thy  God 
hath  commanded  thy  strength.  Strengthen,  0  God,  that 
which  Thou  hast  wrought  for  us."  No  stability  can  be 
assured  until  the  one  decision  has  been  made:  "Lord,  I  will 
follow  Thee ! "  What  sluggish  natures  have  been  quickened, 
what  wavering  wills  confirmed,  what  noble  aims  attained, 
under  the  power  of  this  one  resolve  !  What  companies  of 
the  weak  have  been  turned  into  victorious  armies,  in  the 
track  of  this  Leader,  who  endured  the  cross  and  despised 
its  shame  !  "  Let  thy  hand  be  upon  the  Man  of  thy  right 
hand,  upon  the  Son  of  man  whom  Thou  madest  strong  for 
Thyself.  So  will  not  we  go  back  from  Thee."  But  choose 
Him  for  his  own  sake ;  and  choose  Him  now  for  "  right- 
eousness and  strength" — for  the  sinful  past,  for  the 
anxious  future.  Beware  of  the  miserable  "  Go  thy  way 
for  this  time,"  which,  like  all  delays,  leads  down.  "Let 
us  give  earnest  heed  to  the  things  which  we  have  heard, 
lest  we  let  them  slip," — lest  we  "  be  floated  past  them" — 
this  is  the  figure.  Thou  art  on  a  stream  which  will  carry 
thee  with  it,  if  thou  dost  not  seize  his  offered  hand.  Thine 
may  be  paralysed,  but  He  will  renew  the  old  miracle  if 
thou  wilt  look  to  Him  :  "  Then  saith  He  to  the  man5 
Stretch  forth  thine  hand.     And  he  stretched  it  forth." 


V. 

BAKZILLAI  THE  GILEADITE. 
(FOR  THE  AGED.) 

2  Sam.  xix.  31-40.     Read  also  2  Sam.  xvii.  27-29  ;  1  Kings  it.  7  ; 
Jer.  xll  17;  Ezra  ii.  61. 

Some  of  the  most  interesting  spots  in  our  Scottish  land- 
scapes are  hidden  from  the  hasty  traveller.  He  passes 
through  a  beautiful  valley,  sees  the  clear  rushing  river,  the 
green  fields  fringed  by  the  dark  woods  which  climb  the 
skirts  of  the  hills,  the  mountain  tops  with  their  massive 
swell  or  rocky  precipice  indenting  the  sky,  and  he  thinks 
he  knows  the  whole.  But  there  are  exquisite  spots  of 
beauty  hidden  among  the  hills,  shady  pools  in  the  streams, 
quiet  retreats  so  fresh  and  far  away  from  the  world's  eye, 
that  when  he  sees  them  he  feels  as  if  the  foot  of  man  had 
never  been  there  before.  It  is  so  in  the  Bible.  We  read 
the  great  roll  of  the  heroes  of  faith  in  the  eleventh  chapter 
of  the  Hebrews,  and  it  seems  as  if  we  had  traversed  the 
history  of  the  ancient  Church  of  God.  But  when  we  pass 
through  the  first  ranks  and  the  grander  scenes,  we  light 
upon  spots  of  tranquil  beauty  and  characters  of  trans- 
parent faith  and  truthfulness  which  fill  us  with  the  glad- 
ness of  surprise. 

The  story  of  Barzillai  is  one  of  these.  We  shall  not 
attempt  to  rehearse  what  is  told  so  naturally  in  the  words 
of  Scripture  itself,  but  shall  rather  ask  you  to  read  it  over 
for  yourselves  with  the  different  references  to  it,  and 
meditate  on  it,  till  it  becomes  filled  with  detail  and  colour, 
and  lives  and  glows  before  your  mind's  eye.     There  are 

67 


68  BARZILLAI  THE  GILEADITE. 

some  thoughts  about  it  which  strike  us  at  the  first.  There 
is  the  true-hearted  loyalty  of  the  old  subject  for  the  old 
king.  He  had  much  to  lose,  but  he  came  out  openly  in 
the  time  of  danger.  He  was  faithful,  you  may  be  sure, 
not  from  any  blind  belief  in  the  "  divine  right  of  kings  to 
govern  wrong,"  but  because  he  knew  on  which  side  justice 
and  freedom  and  the  fear  of  God  were  to  be  found ;  and  it 
is  such  men,  never  heard  of  before,  nor  known  about  court, 
who  are  the  true  support  of  rightful  governments.  You 
will  observe,  also,  what  a  large  generosity  and  fine  delicacy 
of  feeling  may  lie  hidden  in  the  quiet  ways  of  life  till 
opportunity  calls  them  out.  Barzillai  has  the  nobility  and 
courtesy  which  were  seen  long  before  in  his  father  Abraham, 
and  long  afterwards  in  the  apostle  Paul,  to  which  one 
must  first  be  born  in  the  natural  way  and  then,  to  give 
them  their  finest  grace,  born  of  the  Spirit. 

David,  king  though  he  be,  and  kingly  in  his  words  and 
acts,  takes  the  lower  place.  He  is  not  ungrateful,  as 
monarchs  too  often  have  been  to  those  who  stood  by  them 
in  their  time  of  peril.  But  there  is  more  than  gratitude ; 
there  is  an  insight  into  the  sincerity  and  magnanimity  of  the 
old  man  which  fills  him  with  admiration  and  love,  and 
makes  him  wish  to  have  him  always  with  him,  as  if  his 
presence  would  be  a  benediction.  May  we  not  suppose 
that  his  own  shepherd  life,  when  he  kept  his  father's  flocks 
in  Bethlehem,  rises  before  him  with  fond  remembrance, 
and  when  he  cannot  return  to  it  he  would  fain  carry 
a  memory  of  it  with  him  to  his  palace  in  Jerusalem1? 
Kings  are  so  little  sure  of  personal  affection,  they  are  so 
surrounded  by  hollow  conventionalism,  and  sometimes,  as 
David  had  experienced,  by  treachery,  that  they  are  drawn 
by  strong  attraction  to  those  who  are  bound  to  them  for 
more  than  their  rank  and  riches.  Perhaps,  also,  he  felt 
that  he  would  be  a  wiser  and  better  man,  more  safe  from 


BARZILLAI  THE  GILEADITE.  69 

the  temptations  of  vanity  and  luxury,  if  he  had  Barzillai 
beside  him.  A  good  man  always  in  view  may  become  to 
us  like  a  second  conscience.  When  the  king  could  not 
persuade  the  father,  he  gladly  accepts  the  charge  of  his 
son.  He  seems  to  feel  as  if  the  care  of  this  young  man 
would  bring  comfort  to  his  heart,  which  was  still  bleeding 
for  the  loss  of  Absalom.  It  was  not  in  lightness  that 
David  made  the  request.  When  on  his  deathbed,  he 
remembered  it,  and  charged  Solomon  to  show  kindness  to 
the  son  for  the  sake  of  what  his  father  Barzillai  had  done 
for  him  when  he  fled  from  the  face  of  Absalom.  In  the 
book  of  Jeremiah,  many  generations  afterwards,  we  learn 
that  the  habitation  of  Chimham's  family  was  in  Bethlehem, 
by  the  house  of  David  ;  and,  in  the  days  of  the  return  from 
the  captivity,  the  daughters  of  Barzillai  the  Gileadite 
are  named  as  having  a  place  among  the  tribes  of  Israel. 
If  we  read  the  Bible  carefully  we  shall  find  such  miniatures 
as  these  scattered  among  its  great  historic  paintings,  bear- 
ing marks  of  the  same  designing  hand  in  God's  providential 
care  and  in  the  living  likenesses  fashioned  by  his  grace.  At 
present  we  shall  select  only  a  portion  of  the  story.  Let  that 
portion  be  the  words  of  Barzillai  on  parting  with  David. 

I.  We  have  a  man  who  knows  that  he  is  old,  but  who  is  not 
distressed  by  the  thought  of  it.  There  are  old  men  who  do 
not  know  that  they  are  old,  or  who  seek  to  suppress  the 
knowledge.  "Grey  hairs,"  the  prophet  says,  "are  here 
and  there  on  him,  yet  he  knoweth  not."  They  do  all  they 
can  to  hide  their  growing  age  from  others,  and  from  them- 
selves ;  and  when  multiplying  infirmities  compel  them  to 
confess  it,  it  is  with  melancholy,  if  not  with  bitterness. 
Now  here  is  an  old  man  who  has  no  difficulty  in  owning 
that  he  is  old.  He  has  no  reticence,  no  shame,  and,  so  far 
as  we  can  see,  he  has  no  regret.     He  numbers  up  his 


70  BARZILLAI  THE  GILEADITE. 

weaknesses  indeed,  but  it  is  much  in  the  way  a  soldier 
counts  the  scars  he  has  brought  from  his  battle-fields. 
"  So  long  have  I  served  my  king  and  country,  and  here  are 
the  marks  of  the  wounds."  '  Look,'  Barzillai  says,  '  at 
what  eighty  years  of  life-work  have  brought  me ;  dim  eyes, 
dull  ears,  grey  hairs,  feeble  hands,  and  tottering  limbs ; 
this  world  is  fading  from  my  soul's  vision ;  I  cannot  be  far 
from  my  bed  in  the  grave.'  And  he  says  this  not  to  ask  for 
pity,  and  vex  others  with  the  care  of  his  infirmities,  but  to 
save  them  from  trouble  :  "  Wherefore  should  thy  servant 
be  yet  a  burden  unto  my  lord  the  king  1"  A  brave- 
hearted,  unselfish  old  man  this  is,  bearing  up  when  the 
strong  men  bow  themselves,  and  sustained,  no  doubt,  by  a 
deep  hope  within.  We  feel  that  if  he  had  lived  in  the 
time  of  the  New  Testament  he  would  have  been  such  an 
one  as  Paul  the  aged,  and  that  he  would  have  expressed 
himself  in  such  words  as  these  :  "  I  have  fought  a  good 
fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith." 
"  Now  is  our  salvation  nearer  than  when  we  believed." 
Few  things  in  the  world  are  so  pleasant  as  the  sight  of  such 
a  conscious,  cheerful,  hopeful  old  age,  certain  that  it  has  not 
long  to  stay,  but  interested  to  the  last  in  the  best  things 
of  life,  in  the  cause  of  God  and  man,  and  country  and 
church.  This  is  the  hoary  head  which  is  so  beautiful  when 
it  is  found  in  the  way  of  righteousness.  We  should  aim 
at  this  even  from  youth,  for,  if  we  live,  we  shall  grow  old ; 
yes,  if  we  live,  we  shall  grow  old.  It  is  a  truism  which 
most  people  forget.  They  think  often  of  life,  they  think 
sometimes  of  death,  they  seldom  think  of  old  age. 

But  how  are  we  to  prepare  for  this  1  First,  surely,  by 
taking  God  with  us  early  in  the  journey  of  life,  that  we 
may  be  able  to  press  the  plea  :  "  0  God,  Thou  hast  taught 
me  from  my  youth ;  and  now,  when  I  am  old  and  grey- 
headed, 0  God,  forsake  me  not."     God  is  willing  to  receive 


BARZILLAI  THE  GILEA.DITE.  71 

a  man  whenever  he  turns  to  Him ;  but  the  later  he  turns, 
the  more  shall  be  his  regrets.  Next,  by  providing  before- 
hand the  compensations  which  God  is  willing  to  give  for 
everything  that  may  be  taken  away  by  the  changes  of  life. 
If  the  eye  is  to  become  dim,  we  may  be  preparing  an  inner 
vision  more  open  and  clear  for  divine  and  eternal  realities; 
if  the  ear  is  to  be  dulled  to  earthly  music,  and  hard  of 
access  to  the  voice  of  friends,  we  can  ask  that  friend  to  say 
to  it,  "  Ephphatha,  Be  opened ! "  who  will  enter  our  soli- 
tude with  his  words — "  To  old  age  I  am  He,  to  hoar  hairs 
I  will  carry  you  ; "  if  the  feet  and  hands  become  powerless 
for  their  accustomed  work,  we  may  exercise  ourselves  in 
the  faith  and  hope  which  make  the  feet  more  than  youth- 
ful and  change  the  hands  to  wings,  so  that  we  shall 
mount  up  like  eagles,  and  run  and  not  be  weary,  and  walk 
and  not  faint.  And,  if  we  reach  old  age,  we  can  make 
it  happy  by  seeking  to  make  it  unselfish.  If,  as  we 
advance  in  life,  we  make  our  growing  infirmities  a  dis- 
comfort to  all  about  us,  if  we  dwell  upon  them  with  need- 
less and  peevish  rehearsal,  if  we  use  them  for  taxing  our 
friends  to  do  what  we  can  perform  for  ourselves,  we  shall 
make  our  load  heavier,  by  having  it  always  in  our  thoughts, 
and  we  shall  lose  the  sympathy  which  would  have  made 
it  lighter.  But  if,  while  we  are  conscious  of  increasing 
weaknesses,  we  strive  to  save  others  from  suffering  by  them, 
we  shall  more  than  half  forget  them  in  forgetting  ourselves; 
and  we  shall  commend  old  age  by  showing  the  young  that 
every  period  of  life  has  its  resources  for  being  happy,  and 
for  doing  good.  This  is  the  true  way  of  rejuvenescence, 
of  renewing  our  youth  like  the  eagle's,  and  of  bringing 
forth  fruit  in  old  age.  Some  one  has  said  that  it  would 
be  a  melancholy  world  without  children,  and  an  inhuman 
world  without  the  aged  ;  and  the  world  is  never  better  than 
when  these  two  can  meet  and  give  and  receive  gladness. 


72  BARZILLAI  THE  GILEADITE. 

Now,  it  is  quite  true  that  the  great  majority  of  men,  and 
even  many  good  Christians,  cannot  attain  to  the  thought 
of  a  happy  old  age  without  a  hard  struggle.  We  have  a 
natural  reluctance  to  the  feeling  that  we  are  growing  old ; 
we  put  it  away,  and  when  something  at  last  forces  it  upon 
us,  it  is  like  the  rush  of  an  armed  man  from  an  ambush, 
or  the  flake  of  the  first  snow  to  tell  us  that  the  long  sum- 
mer days  are  gone,  and  that  winter  is  at  hand.  And  yet, 
as  you  may  have  seen,  it  is  the  transition  which  is  the 
most  painful.  When  the  first  days  of  brown  October  show 
us  the  fresh  green  leaves  of  summer,  now  sere  and  yellow, 
dropping  from  the  boughs  under  the  wind  that  wails 
through  the  thin  woods,  we  cannot  help  a  feeling  of  sad- 
ness creeping  over  the  heart.  But  when  winter  has  come 
it  has  its  own  enjoyments  ;  there  is  the  long,  quiet  evening, 
the  cheerful  gleam  of  the  hearth,  the  closer  bosom  of  the 
family  and  of  friendship,  the  pleasant  memories  of  summer, 
and  the  hopes  of  its  return — these  give  to  winter  its 
gladness,  and  even  its  glow.  If  we  are  in  this  transition, 
or  nearing  it,  we  should  seek  to  realise  it,  and  to  rise  above 
it  by  looking  forward.  Every  time  of  life  to  a  true  man 
is  only  a  transition  to  something  better.  '  I  am  growing 
old ;  yes,  I  am  growing  old  ;  Lord,  teach  me  to  count  my 
days,  and  to  look  not  so  much  wistfully  back  as  hopefully 
forward,  forward  to  the  quiet  peace  and  happy  thoughts 
which  God  can  give  in  winter,  and,  still  further,  to  the  day 
when  winter  shall  be  past,  and  the  rains  over  and  gone, 
and  the  time  of  the  singing  of  birds  shall  again  have  come.' 
The  experience  of  an  aged  Christian  woman 1  was,  that  "  at 
eighty-five  she  felt  old  age  to  be  the  happiest  period  of 
human  life,  because  the  most  free  from  cares  and  worldly 
anxieties,  and  the  nearest  to  its  happy  destination."  We 
would  not  forget,  however,  that  there  are  those  to  whom  old 
1  Mary  Hill.     See  Autobiography  of  Mrs.  Fletcher. 


BARZILLAI  THE  GILEADITE.  73 

age  comes  not  free  from  cares.  The  poet  has  spoken  of  "  age 
and  want  as  an  ill-matched  pair,"  and  Eichter  says,  "  Wel- 
come poverty,  provided  it  comes  not  too  late  in  life !  w 
Barzillai's  character  is  an  example  to  us  here.  It  is  the 
part  of  all  to  help  old  age  in  want ;  but  it  seems  specially 
fitting  that  the  old  who  have  the  power  should  help  the 
old.  To  see  an  aged  man  overburdened  with  wealth,  and 
clinging  to  it,  when  he  could  relieve  the  wants  of  those 
with  whom  he  most  of  all  should  sympathise,  is  a  pitiable 
thing.  It  seems  to  have  taken  the  weight  of  years  from 
Barzillai's  head  when  he  could  unload  himself  of  his  sub- 
stance for  the  help  of  David.  "We  have  still  our  way  of 
reaching  a  higher  King,  and  of  receiving  his  blessing — 
"  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of 
these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  Me." 

II.  We  have  a  man  who  is  rich,  but  ivho  is  satisfied  with 
his  natural  position.  No  doubt,  the  remark  will  readily  be 
made  by  some,  '  It  is  easy  for  a  rich  man  to  be  satisfied ; 
let  us  have  his  wealth,  and  we  shall  blame  ourselves  if  we 
ask  for  anything  more.'  But  if  you  look  round  on  the 
world,  you  will  perceive  that  it  is  at  the  stage  of  prosperity 
that  the  dissatisfaction  of  many  men  begins.  They  are  ambi- 
tious of  quitting  their  old  society  and  habits,  their  tastes 
and  even  their  temperament,  and  of  taking  a  flight  into 
an  untried  region  for  which  they  have  frequently  no  apti- 
tude and  no  training.  A  poor  man  may  be  dissatisfied  with 
his  poverty  ;  a  rich  man  is  often  dissatisfied  with  all  his  old 
circle,  and  with  his  former  self.  If  Barzillai  had  been  of  the 
mind  of  many,  he  would  have  made  his  wealth  buy  wings  for 
his  vanity,  and,  old  as  he  was,  would  have  tried  to  flutter  in 
the  sunshine  of  the  court.  Here  was  his  opportunity  for  get- 
ting a  ribbon  or  a  star,  or  whatever  might  then  be  the  name 
for  it,  for  being  pointed  out  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  and 


74  BARZ1LLAI  THE  GILEADITE. 

having  a  splendid  mausoleum  in  the  king's  dale.  But  he 
was  a  wiser  man,  and  a  happier,  and  stands  in  higher 
honour  this  day  than  if  he  had  wronged  his  nature,  and 
finished  his  life  with  an  act  of  folly. 

It  is  quite  true  that  the  Bible  forbids  no  man  to  seek 
the  improvement  of  his  worldly  circumstances,  or  to  use 
that  improvement  in  a  wise  and  generous  way.  It  has  no 
malediction  on  wealth  itself,  and  no  canonising  of  poverty. 
When  our  Saviour  bade  the  young  man  sell  all  he  had, 
and  give  to  the  poor,  it  was  a  test  of  character,  not  a  con- 
dition of  discipleship.  Wealth  gives  a  man  many  advan- 
tages ;  it  enables  him  to  ward  off  evils  which  flesh  and 
blood  find  it  hard  to  bear ;  it  opens  up  the  way  to  fair 
fields  of  knowledge  ;  it  puts  it  in  his  power  to  relieve  the 
sufferings  of  others,  and  to  help  causes  dear  to  God  and  to 
every  good  man.  But  there  are  two  things  against  which 
a  man  who  has  risen  to  wealth  should  carefully  watch — 
becoming  the  slave  of  sensual  gratification :  '  What  more 
can  I  eat  and  drink  1 '  or  the  servant  of  vanity  and  love 
of  display  :  '  How  can  I  shine  in  the  social  circle  % '  We 
have  much  of  both  in  our  time,  and,  perhaps,  the  last  more 
than  the  first.  How  many  do  we  see  who  would  have 
been  happy,  useful,  and  honoured  if  they  had  considered 
the  laws  of  natural  fitness,  but  who  make  themselves  con- 
temptible and  miserable  by  aiming  at  a  kind  of  life  for 
which  they  were  never  made  !  They  imitate  the  style  and 
talk,  and  perhaps  the  religion,  of  what  they  think  and  call 
the  upper  class,  and  all  the  while  they  have  as  little  per- 
ception and  enjoyment  of  the  fashion  they  affect,  as  old 
Barzillai  would  have  had  of  the  music  of  the  singers  in 
Jerusalem.  One  evil  of  this  is  that  it  prevents  many 
people  who  have  wealth  being  listened  to,  when  they  pro- 
test against  the  sensualism  and  intemperance  which  would 
ruin  our  country.     The  froth  cannot,  with  any  consistency, 


BARZILLAI  THE  GILEADITE.  75 

rebuke  the  dregs.  Another  evil  is  that  many  in  this 
foolish  chase  are  injuring  their  own  best  nature.  If  they 
have  been  brought  up  in  a  reasonable  way,  they  cannot,  in 
their  inmost  heart,  approve  of  this  unnatural  change,  and 
if  they  persist  in  it,  it  will  destroy  the  reality  of  their 
character  in  more  important  things.  For  the  greatest  evil 
of  all  is  that  the  grace  of  God  in  the  heart  finds  it  hard  to 
live  with  pretentious  struggle  and  unreality.  Those  who 
are  to  the  manner  born  may  be  humble  in  royal  circles,  if 
they  are  God's  children  ;  and  those  who  have  duty  to  per- 
form are  steadied  by  it,  and  may  stand  safe  in  high  places; 
but  if  we  covet  the  company  for  the  mere  repute  and 
fashion  of  it,  we  are  on  slippery  ground.  David  might  be 
able  to  pray  in  his  palace  in  Jerusalem  as  fervently  as  in 
the  wilderness  of  Judah,  but  it  would  not  have  been  so 
easy  for  Barzillai.  A  man  who  is  diligent  in  business  may 
stand  before  kings,  but  he  will  not  thrust  himself  in,  he  will 
wait  to  be  summoned,  and  when  he  stands  before  them  he 
will  not  turn  his  back  on  his  own  true  nature,  on  tried 
friendships  in  any  walk  of  life,  or  on  the  religion  which  has 
commended  itself  to  him  as  in  accordance  with  God's  Word, 
though  it  may  be  lightly  esteemed  in  the  fashionable  world. 
He  is  a  very  small  man  and  a  very  feeble  Christian  who 
forgets  his  old  friends,  or  forsakes  his  old  faith,  because  he 
cannot  own  them  in  some  circle  he  would  fondly  enter ;  he 
can  never  reach  the  highest  honour  or  feel  the  deepest 
happiness.  In  the  midst  of  empty  ambitions,  and  vain 
contests  for  pre-eminence,  our  wisdom  is  to  prefer  the 
position  which  agrees  with  what  is  deepest  in  our  nature, 
and  which  is  most  helpful  to  our  spiritual  life.  It  was  the 
choice  of  Barzillai,  and  of  the  wise  woman  of  Shunem : 
"What  is  to  be  done  for  thee1?  wouldest  thou  be  spoken 
for  to  the  king,  or  to  the  captain  of  the  host  1  And  she 
answered,  I  dwell  among  mine  own  people." 


76  BAKZILLAI  THE  GILEADITE. 

III.  We  have  a  man  of  long  experience,  who  has  kept  up 
his  love  of  simple  pleasures.  We  can  infer  this  from  the 
tone  in  which  he  speaks.  He  had  reached  an  age  when 
the  love  of  sensational  things  fails,  in  all  but  the  most 
frivolous ;  yet  the  way  in  which  he  speaks  of  them  puts 
them  quietly  aside,  as  not  to  his  taste,  and  never  likely 
to  have  been  so.  He  had  been  brought  up  among  the  hills 
of  Gilead,  a  land  of  flocks  and  herds  and  grassy  pastures 
and  clear  streams,  with  the  sights  and  sounds  of  free 
nature  around  him.  And  where  he  has  lived,  he  wishes 
to  die  and  "  be  buried  by  the  grave  of  his  father  and  his 
mother."  The  old  man  of  fourscore  is  a  child  again,  back 
in  his  heart  in  the  home  of  his  youth,  where  he  felt  a 
mother's  love  and  a  father's  care,  and  he  cannot  leave  the 
spot  where  they  lie.  We  feel  that  there  is  a  fresh,  tender 
heart  in  him  which  has  not  grown  old  with  his  years,  with 
pensive  memories  of  the  past,  but  full  power  of  enjoying  all 
that  is  natural  and  true  around  him.  "  A  right  man,"  it 
has  been  said,  "  should  carry  all  the  past  stages  of  his  life 
within  him,  as  a  tree  carries  the  circles  of  its  growth." 
Such  a  man  evidently  was  Barzillai. 

In  these  times  of  tumult  and  change,  we  think  with 
envy  of  the  quiet,  primitive  days,  when  men  grew  up  in 
their  place  with  leisure  for  spreading  out  their  thoughts 
like  branches,  and  sending  down  their  affections  like  roots. 
We  have  no  wish  to  depreciate  that  kind  of  life  which 
occupies  itself  with  the  activities  of  the  world,  which 
presses  into  the  highways  of  cities,  and  the  throng  of  busi- 
ness, and  which  has  its  pleasure  in  breasting  and  battling 
with  the  great  waves  of  public  movement  in  social  and 
intellectual  and  political  progress.  There  are  faculties  in 
man's  nature  which  find  their  proper  exercise  in  this ;  the 
world  could  not  advance  or  even  live  without  it,  and  the 
calm  recesses,  which  seem  shut  out  from  the  great  sea  of 


BARZILLAI  THE  GILEADITE.  77 

life,  would  stagnate  if  they  were  not  stirred  by  its  tides. 
But  we  should  take  care  that  the  whirl  of  public  life  does 
not  unfit  us  for  enjoying  private  life.  A  man  must  judge 
for  himself  how  far  he  can  go  in  the  work  of  the  world,  or 
even  the  work  of  the  Church,  without  losing  the  essence  of 
his  personal  life  ;  and  his  safety  lies  in  remembering  that, 
after  the  friendship  of  God,  his  happiness  is  found  in  never 
losing  the  power  of  being  pleased  with  simple  things,  things 
which  can  be  easily  reached,  which  do  not  pall  with  the 
possession,  nor  create  a  craving  for  fresh  excitement.  What 
is  needed  for  young  and  old  is  to  preserve  a  love  for  home 
and  its  affections,  and  an  open  eye  for  interest  in  the  most 
common  things  which  God  has  scattered  round  us  in  his 
world. 

We  may  turn  aside  to  touch,  for  a  moment,  a  question 
often  discussed,  and  of  importance  for  our  time — the  com- 
parative advantage  of  country  or  of  city.  We  have  Bar- 
zillai's  choice  here,  and  we  all  know  the  poet's  saying, 
"  God  made  the  country,  but  man  made  the  town."  The 
country  has  its  calm,  its  opportunity  for  reflection,  its 
freedom  from  some  temptations  ;  but  it  has  its  dangers,  its 
tendency  to  stagnation  and  narrowness  and  selfishness. 
The  town  has  its  stimulus  of  society,  its  energetic  pulse  of 
life,  its  spirit  of  progress,  but  it  has  its  evil  sights  and 
sounds,  which  wake  up  sleeping  demons,  its  false  ambitions, 
its  fevered  unrest.  The  one  may  become  a  marsh,  the 
other  a  whirlpool.  The  happy  case,  if  we  could  reach  it, 
would  be  some  union  of  the  two.  The  Son  of  Man  laid 
his  hand  on  both  when  He  taught  on  the  shores  of  the 
Lake  of  Galilee,  and  the  hilly  slopes  around  it,  and  when 
He  mingled  with  men  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem.  Eden 
begins  the  world  with  man  almost  lost  in  nature ;  the  new 
Jerusalem  closes  it  with  the  city  which  God  has  built  for 
man,  and  nature  scattered  through  it.    And  in  these  things 


78  BAEZ1LLAI  THE  GILEADITE. 

there  is  this  truth,  that  in  the  throng  of  human  life  we 
should  keep  within  sight  of  the  works  of  God.  If,  in  our 
artificial  society,  the  masses  are  shut  out  from  this,  it  is 
unhealthy  both  for  body  and  soul.  It  is  for  the  good  of  a 
nation  that  the  balance  should  be  kept  up,  that  the  country 
should  become  more,  if  the  city  does  not  become  less  ;  or 
that  the  cities  should,  in  some  way,  disperse  themselves 
and  "  go  forth  into  the  fields,  and  lodge  in  the  villages." 
The  opportunity  to  raise,  with  his  own  hands,  a  few 
flowers,  makes  a  man  more  human,  and  brings  him  more 
within  reach  of  God  and  of  his  grace.  It  may  seem  a 
dream  to  hope  for  this  to  any  large  extent,  but  even  now 
the  thoughts  of  men  are  being  turned  to  it,  and  if  we  had 
man  more  in  contact  with  nature,  we  might  have  God  more 
seen  in  them  both,  and  might  bring  back  that  fellowship  of 
Eden  when  the  Lord  God  came  down  "  to  walk  with  man 
in  the  garden,  in  the  cool  of  the  day." 

But  meanwhile,  this  is  not  a  dream,  that  a  man  can  keep 
the  love  of  natural  things  in  his  heart,  and  can  call  them 
up  in  fancy,  as  he  reads.  We  feel  as  if  one  could  not  per- 
use this  simple  story  of  Barzillai  the  Gileadite,  without  a 
pleasure  stealing  unconsciously  over  him,  and  helping  him, 
though  he  is  tied  for  the  time  to  the  mart  or  to  the  mill, 
to  "  scorn  the  multitude  of  the  city,  and  regard  not  the 
crying  of  the  driver."  Next  to  the  value  we  set  on  the 
Bible  for  its  great  truths  of  redeeming  grace — for  Christ  and 
the  salvation  of  the  soul — we  should  love  it  for  this,  that  it 
takes  us  to  nature  and  to  the  home  affections,  and  that  it  was 
an  earlier  guide  than  Wordsworth  to  the  thoughts  which  are 
shut  up  in  flowers  and  clouds  and  stars.  If  a  man  will 
but  read  his  Bible  with  a  fresh  heart,  he  may  walk  with 
patriarchs  in  the  world  when  it  was  young  and  green,  may 
rest  with  Abraham  under  the  shade  of  the  oak  of  Mamre, 
and  see  the  upspringing  of  the  well  to  which  the  princes 


BARZILLAI  THE  GILEADITE.  79 

of  Israel  sang.  It  will  place  him  beside  Job  in  that 
wonderful  procession  of  God's  works  and  creatures  which 
give  him  such  humility  and  confidence.  He  may  sit  on  the 
mountain-top  with  Christ  among  the  lilies  and  the  birds, 
to  understand  what  they  say  and  sing,  and  he  may  listen 
till  he  hears  far  off  the  final  hymn,  which  shall  be  a  con- 
cert of  nature  round  regenerated  men,  when  "  the  wilder- 
ness and  the  solitary  place  shall  be  glad  for  them ;  and  the 
desert  shall  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose." 

IV.  We  have  a  man  who  is  attached  to  the  past,  but  who 
does  not  distrust  the  future.  There  was  evidently  a  great 
change  coming  over  the  land  of  Israel  at  this  time.  The 
old  patriarchal  ways  were  losing  their  hold.  The  capital 
was  growing,  and  men  and  gold  and  silver  flowing  into 
it.  New  views  were  prevailing  which  looked  on  the  past 
as  antiquated,  and  pressed  forward,  often  recklessly,  into 
unknown  futures.  The  young  men  of  revolution  who 
gathered  round  Absalom  were  a  sign  of  it,  and  after  the 
splendour  of  Solomon's  reign  it  came  out  more  distinctly 
under  his  successor.  In  the  parting  of  Barzillai  and 
David  we  seem  to  have  the  two  tendencies,  the  recoil  of 
the  old,  the  advance  of  the  new.  But  the  recoil  is  only 
one  of  personal  feeling.  For  himself  he  has  grown  up  in 
the  old  way,  and  cannot  change — he  loves  its  simplicity, 
its  naturalness,  its  antique  virtues.  But  he  is  not  one  of 
those  who  think  that  the  world  is  to  stand  still  at  their 
grave,  that  all  the  good  is  behind,  and  all  the  evil  before. 
He  says  for  himself,  '  I  am  too  old  to  transplant,  I  shall 
die  as  I  have  lived,  contented  among  my  fields  and  flocks, 
and  I  shall  lie  down  in  my  father's  grave.  But  the  new 
has  its  rights  and  the  world  will  be  on.  My  son  is  here ; 
the  future  is  beaming  in  his  face,  and  beating  in  his 
heart ;  I  give  him  into  hands  I  can  trust  for  leading  him 


80  BARZILLAI  THE  GILEAD1TE. 

in  the  way  of  truth  and  righteousness.  Do  with  him 
what  seemeth  good  unto  thee.'  The  training  of  his  family 
had  no  doubt  been  that  of  faithful  Abraham,  "  command- 
ing his  household  after  him  to  keep  the  way  of  the  Lord," 
and  under  David's  care  the  counsel  would  be  that  which 
he  gave  to  his  own  son  :  "  And  thou,  my  son,  know  thou 
the  God  of  thy  father,  and  serve  Him  with  a  perfect 
heart,  and  with  a  willing  mind."  If  the  old  can  thus  pass 
over  into  the  new,  there  is  security  amid  all  changes. 

We  are  in  the  midst  of  one  of  these  transitions  now, 
when  many  are  fearing,  and  some  are  predicting,  only 
evil.  The  quiet  old  life  of  our  country  is  retiring  ever- 
more into  the  background,  and  the  towns  with  their  rush 
of  life,  their  battles  of  thought  and  action,  their  impulses 
for  good  and  evil  are  in  the  front.  The  sons  and 
daughters  are  flocking  to  them,  the  fathers  and  mothers, 
with  less  choice  than  Barzillai,  are  often  compelled  to 
follow.  We  cannot  help  regretting  it,  and  wishing  to 
retain  as  much  as  we  can  of  what  was  so  good.  When 
we  think  of  the  old  life  of  Scotland  among  its  hills  and 
cottage  homes,  of  its  men  and  women  so  intelligent  and 
God-fearing,  so  independent  in  spirit,  yet  so  kindly  and 
courteous,  it  is  hard  to  believe  that  its  departure  can  be 
a  blessing.  The  land  can  scarcely  anywhere  rear  a  nobler 
people  than  those  who,  on  a  Sabbath  morning,  gathered 
like  streams  from  the  valleys  to  the  house  of  God,  to  sing 
the  psalms  which  had  been  the  strength  of  their  fathers 
when  they  were  outcasts  among  the  mountains. 

There  is  another  view  of  the  time  which  may  make  us 
still  more  anxious.  Insurrections  of  self-will  and  lawless- 
ness are  breaking  out  which  threaten  all  things  human  and 
divine.  Men  are  setting  their  mouths  against  the  heavens, 
and  laying  bitter  and  persistent  siege  to  the  citadels  in 
which  faith  has  felt  itself  secure  for  ages.     These  things 


BARZILLAI  THE  GILEADITE.  B  1 

sadden  and  startle  us  when  we  think  of  the  future.     The 
world  looks  like  a   ship  descending  the  rapids,  and  some 
surge  of  the  stream'  may  dash  and  shatter  it  on  the  black 
reefs    of  atheism  and  anarchy  which   shoot  their  heads 
above  the  foam.      We  may  be  quietly  sleeping  by  the 
grave  of  our  father  and  mother,  beyond  the  shock  and 
terror,  but  what  of  the  poor  children  growing  up  around 
us,  who  have  to  meet  this  crisis  ?     We  cannot  help,  even 
now,  pitying  them  when  we  think  of  the  doubts  and  evil 
suggestions  cast  in  on  hearts  which   should  be    opening 
trustfully  to  a  heavenly  Fathers  care.     Let  us  have  faith 
in  God.     Changes  tbere  have  been,  threatening  destruc- 
tion all  along  the  march  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  but  each 
one  of  them  has  led  to  something  higher  and  better.     God 
is  in  the  future  as  He  has  been  in  the  past,  and  his  path 
is  that  of  the  Just  One,  shining  more  and  more  unto  the 
perfect  day.     Only,  let  us  do  with  the  children  what  this 
aged  Israelite  did  with   his  son.     Let  us  commit  them, 
with  faith  and  prayer  and  Christian  training,  into  the 
keeping  of  the  wiser  and  mightier  King  under  whose  rule 
the  world  is  placed.     "  Let  them  go  over  with  my  Lord 
the  King,  and  let  Him  do  to  them  what  shall  seem  good 
unto  Him."    u  He   shall   save   the   children  of  the  needy, 
and  shall  redeem  their    soul   from    deceit  and  violence." 
He  cannot  be  dethroned,  till  men  find  a  purity  and  love 
which  are  holier  and  more  compassionate  than  the  heart  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     There  are  times  when  men  may 
think  He   has  lost  his  throne,  when  Ahitophels  betray, 
and  Shimeis  cast  dust  and  insult ;  but  He  will  come  back 
again  to  a  larger  dominion;   "  judgment  shall  return  unto 
righteousness,   and  all  the  upright  in  heart  shall  follow 
it." 

We  would  not  forget  that  there  may  be   some   who 
have  no  anxiety  about  living  children,  but  whose  hearts 


82  BARZILLAI  THE  GILEADITE. 

have  a  life-long  sorrow  for  the  dead.  They  have  parted 
with  them  like  Barzillai  on  the  bank  of  Jordan,  and  lost 
sight  of  them  as  they  moved  away  to  that  great  world 
which  is  gathering  all  to  itself.  But  if  they  have  been 
given  over  into  his  care  who  has  said,  "  Suffer  them  to 
come  unto  Me,"  "  they  have  been  brought  with  gladness 
and  rejoicing ;  they  have  entered  into  the  King's  palace." 
Nothing  is  lost  that  is  surrendered  into  his  keeping ;  and 
when  He  gives  it  back  it  shall  be  a  portion  of  that  good 
part  which  shall  not  be  taken  away.  Let  us,  then,  confirm 
our  hold  of  Him  to  whom  all  these  ancient  believers,  with 
knowledge  less  or  more,  were  moving  forward,  but  who 
has  been  made  manifest  to  us,  the  guardian  of  childhood, 
the  joy  and  strength  of  youth  and  manhood,  the  hope  of 
darkening  years,  who  can  make  the  light  shine  in  at 
eventide,  and  change  the  shadow  of  death  into  the 
morning. 


VI. 

TWO  MARVELS. 

"  When  Jesus  heard  it,  He  marvelled,  and  said  to  them 
that  followed,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  I  have  not  found  so 
great  faith,  no,  not  in  Israel.''' — Matt.  viii.  10. 

"  And  He  marvelled  because  of  their  unbelief" — Maek 
vi.  6. 

Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  had  the  sinless  feelings  of  our 
human  nature,  and  there  are  two  cases  recorded  here  in 
which  He  was  struck  with  wonder.  The  first  was  at  the 
faith  of  the  heathen  soldier  who  asked  Him  to  heal  his 
servant,  and  who  felt  sure  that  He  needed  only  to  speak 
the  word  and  the  cure  would  come.  He  looked  on  Christ 
as  a  captain  of  salvation  who  had  all  delivering  powers  at 
his  command,  and  who  could  send  them  on  his  errands 
at  any  time  and  to  any  place.  "  When  Jesus  heard  it,  He 
marvelled."  The  other  case  was  when  He  came  to  his  own 
country,  and  found  the  faith  of  the  people  so  weak  that 
his  works  of  healing  were  hindered.  It  should  have 
been  otherwise  with  men  who  possessed  so  much  light 
and  privilege,  "  and  He  marvelled  because  of  their  un- 
belief." There  are  two  sides  to  almost  everything,  accord- 
ing to  the  way  in  which  we  regard  it,  and  there  are  two 
sides  to  faith  and  unbelief.  Sometimes  faith  looks  wonder- 
ful— we  are  surprised  when  we  see  men  believe;  and 
sometimes  unbelief  looks  wonderful — we  are  surprised 
that  men  do  not  believe.  This  is  the  subject  on  which 
we  intend  to  speak;  the  marvels  of  both  faith  and  un- 
belief.    In  doing  this,  we  shall  leave  the  special  instances 

83 


84  TWO  MARVELS. 

in  these  two  histories  aside,  and  deal  with  the  subject 
in  a  general  way.  There  is  a  world  in  which  we  live 
that  lies  open  to  our  senses,  with  its  objects  and  laws — the 
world  of  matter  which  we  look  on  with  our  eyes,  handle 
with  our  hands,  and  examine  by  our  natural  reason; 
and  in  regard  to  the  existence  of  this  material  world,  men, 
except  in  metaphysical  abstractions,  have  no  doubt.  But 
there  is  another  class  of  thoughts,  which  passes  beyond 
the  world  of  sense,  which  men  can  conceive  and  speak  of, 
and  which  numbers  of  men  in  all  ages  and  in  all  countries 
have  held  to  belong  also  to  a  real  world.  It  is  appre- 
hended by  that  power  in  man's  nature  which  we  call 
faith ;  and  to  this  world  belong  God  and  our  own  souls, 
Christ  and  the  great  doctrines  taught  by  Him,  and  pre- 
sented to  us  in  his  life  and  death  and  resurrection.  It  is 
of  this  unseen  world  that  we  intend  to  speak  as  the  object 
of  faith,  and  we  shall,  first,  give  some  illustrations  of 
the  twofold  marvel — it  is  wonderful  that  men  should 
believe  in  such  a  world,  it  is  wonderful  that  they  should 
not  believe  in  it ;  and,  next,  we  shall  give  some  principles 
that  may  help  us  to  a  decision. 

I.  Let  us  look  at  some  of  the  things  which  may 

LEAD  US  TO  MARVEL  BOTH  AT  FAITH  AND  AT  UNBELIEF. 

Take  first  our  own  nature.  When  we  think  of  it  we 
may  sometimes  wonder  that  any  one  believes  in  more  than 
dead  matter.  The  world  with  which  we  are  connected  all 
through  our  life  has  so  much  of  the  presence  and  power  of 
matter  in  it,  that  it  seems  at  times  as  if  there  were  room  for 
nothing  else.  Our  senses  make  us  acquainted  with  nothing 
but  qualities  of  matter.  We  see,  we  touch,  and  we  taste, 
and  we  never  pass  beyond  material  things ;  and  when  we 
refine  and  analyse,  we  reach  only  matter  in  more  subtle 
forms.     The  laws  which  govern  the  universe  around  us 


TWO  MARVELS.  85 

are  material  forces.  Light,  heat,  electricity  are  regulated 
by  laws  which  can  be  measured  with  fixed  certainty,  and 
men  never  reach,  or  expect  to  reach,  in  their  researches 
any  higher  than  a  material  agency.  We  never  arrive  at 
a  point  where  a  hand  comes  in  from  above,  and  where 
we  can  say,  '  There  material  law  ends,  and  the  spiritual 
begins.'  The  writer  in  Ecclesiastes  had  this  same 
feeling  :  "  The  wind  goeth  toward  the  south,  and  turneth 
about  unto  the  north ;  it  returneth  again  according  to  his 
circuits." 

And  the  end  of  these  laws,  to  our  perception,  is  death. 
Change,  ending  in  decay  and  dissolution,  is  written  on  the 
face  of  everything  around  us.  Man  dies,  the  body  returns 
to  dust,  graves  are  heaped  up  age  after  age  and  lie  un- 
broken, and  the  old  question  returns,  "  Man  dieth  and 
wasteth  away ;  yea,  man  giveth  up  the  ghost,  and  where 
is  he  % "  These  things  are  pressing  upon  us  day  after  day, 
from  our  cradle  to  our  grave,  and  they  proclaim  the 
apparently  invincible  power  of  matter  and  material  law. 
Yet  there  are  men  who,  in  the  face  of  all  this,  believe  in 
something  more  than  matter.  They  have  the  conviction 
that  there  is  something  in  them  which  will  survive  this 
change  and  decay ;  that  there  are  other  laws  which,  if 
they  do  not  contradict  the  material,  will  escape  and 
rise  above  and  conquer  them.  Yet  they  have  not  seen 
this  other  world,  they  cannot  prove  by  any  demonstra- 
tion the  existence  of  these  supernatural  laws,  and  still 
they  firmly  believe  in  them.  May  we  not  marvel  at  their 
faith  1 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  if  we  continue  to  think  of  our 
nature,  is  there  not  something  which  makes  us  wonder  at 
unbelief?  There  is  a  world  within  us  entirely  different 
from  all  this  world  of  sense  and  matter.  A  physiologist 
can  show  how  the  light  affects  the  eye,  enters  the  nerves 


86  TWO  MARVELS. 

of  the  brain,  makes  them  move  and  thrill ;  he  can  explain 
how  the  waves  of  sound  fall  on  the  ear,  and  prolong  their 
undulations  into  the  furthest  caverns.  But  does  this 
explain  the  feelings  of  beauty  and  tenderness  which 
visit  us  from  a  sweet  landscape,  or  the  visions  that  flit 
before  the  imagination  as  we  listen  to  strains  of  music  1 
Will  any  analysis  of  the  spectrum  make  us  understand 
how  we  are  moved  by  the  glory  of  the  stars,  or  are  led 
out  by  them  into  an  idea  of  the  infinite !  By  what 
transposition  or  transmutation  of  particles  of  matter 
could  Milton's  view  of  Paradise  arise  %  or  how,  as  our 
eye  lights  on  some  black  characters  in  a  book,  can  that 
view  become  ours  % 

Or  think  of  the  power  of  a  moral  law  in  our  nature. 
There  is  something  in  us  which  says,  "  Thou  shalt,"  and 
"  Thou  shalt  not,"  as  a  fixed  and  eternal  law  in  the  face 
of  all  desire  and  advantage.  The  philosopher  Kant  said 
there  were  in  the  universe  two  sublime  things,  the  starry 
heavens  and  the  moral  law.  Attempts  may  be  made  to 
show  that  the  moral  sense  is  a  growth  of  development 
in  our  nature,  on  the  ground  of  utility,  but  the  fact 
remains  that  the  moral  sense  exists,  that  it  asserts  itself 
against  all  motives  of  utility  as  unchangeable  and  uni- 
versal, and  that  we  cannot  think  of  conscience  approv- 
ing us  when  we  do  what  we  believe  to  be  wrong,  without 
destroying  the  foundation  of  our  nature.  Since  our  planet 
existed,  it  has  rolled  from  west  to  east ;  we  can  imagine 
this  reversed,  but  it  is  impossible  to  imagine  a  re- 
versal of  the  golden  rule  as  a  principle  of  right.  Is 
there  not  something  in  our  nature  older  and  deeper  than 
material  law  1 

Or  think  of  the  existence  of  an  ideal  in  our  nature. 
We  have  a  conception  of  the  true  and  beautiful  and  pure, 
and  to  any  one  who  can  think  about  them  they  are  as 


TWO  MARVELS.  87 

real  as  any  sight  or  sound  can  be.  It  may  be  said  that 
there  is  no  real  object  corresponding  to  them,  that  they 
are  only  creations  of  the  human  mind  ;  but  it  cannot  be 
denied  that  they  are  real  thoughts.  Man  has  the  power 
of  creating  ideas  of  spiritual  perfection,  and  they  have 
been  so  real  to  him  that  he  has  struggled  toward  them  in 
all  ages,  and  has  made  every  sacrifice,  even  to  death,  to 
maintain  them.  Even  if  one  should  say,  '  there  is  no  God, 
there  never  has  been  a  Christ  such  as  the  Gospels  present,' 
yet  there  is  the  thought  of  a  God,  there  is  the  vision  of 
the  character  of  Christ.  Whence  did  these  come  %  And 
can  we  think  that  the  nature  in  which  such  visions  arise, 
where  they  persistently  remain,  which  they  impel  to  such 
disinterested  and  self-renouncing  efforts  and  sufferings,  has 
no  more  in  it  than  matter  and  material  force  3  It  is 
quite  possible,  on  Christian  or  on  merely  philosophical 
principles,  to  account  for  the  existence  of  unbelief  in  men. 
We  can  account  for  it  on  the  ground  of  moral  freedom, 
the  opportunity  for  probation,  the  permission  of  evil  in  a 
world  of  responsible  action,  the  entrance  of  sin  into  the 
world  ;  but  if  there  were  nothing  save  matter  and  its  laws, 
how  can  we  ever  account  for  faith  1  Whence  came  all 
this  universe  of  thought  in  man's  nature,  so  deep,  so  high, 
so  powerful,  that  it  has  shown  itself  again  and  again  able 
to  set  at  nought  every  motive  which  the  world  of  matter 
can  draw  from  the  weight  of  its  profit  or  the  fascination 
of  its  pleasures  1  When  we  think  of  these  things  in  man's 
nature,  may  we  not  wonder  at  persistent  unbelief? 

But,  again,  if  we  would  see  another  instance  of  this 
opposition  of  faith  and  unbelief,  let  us  look  at  the  Bible, 
There  are  many  things  about  the  Bible  which  try  our 
faith.  There  is  this,  first  of  all,  that  the  Bible  professes  to 
be  a  book  which  has  come  from  God  as  man's  guide  for 
time  and  for  eternity ;  and  yet  its  evidence  of  divinity  is 


88  TWO  MARVELS. 

open  to  dispute.  Since  the  proof  of  its  origin  is  so  impor- 
tant, should  not  God  have  made  it  so  certain  that  no  man 
could  doubt  it — as  clear  as  the  sun  in  the  sky,  or  the 
great  laws  which  govern  our  physical  life  1  What  guide 
who  cannot  show  undoubted  credentials  will  inspire  con- 
fidence in  those  who  need  his  guidance  1  Does  it  not 
shake  our  faith  to  think  that  so  much  argument  is  needed 
to  repel  the  objections  that  have  been  made  to  the  Bible  1 
When  we  come  to  the  contents  of  the  Bible,  they  look  so 
scattered  and  disjointed ;  many  of  the  parts  seem  to  have 
found  a  place  in  it  by  accident,  and  are  questioned,  not 
only  by  those  whom  we  call  its  enemies,  but  by  men  whom 
we  esteem  its  friends.  There  are  what  seem  so  many 
trifling  details,  irrelevant  circumstances  in  the  book,  and 
difficulties  which  we  cannot  solve  to  others  or  to  ourselves. 
Could  not  the  Author  of  the  Bible,  if  it  be  a  divine  book, 
have  removed  these  stumbling-blocks  from  the  way  of 
our  faith  1  Then  there  is  in  the  centre  of  the  book,  and 
pervading  it,  this  one  point,  this  marvellous  declaration, 
that  the  Maker  of  the  universe  became  man,  a  suffering 
man,  and  died,  and  was  laid  in  the  grave,  and  took  on  Him 
the  sins  of  men,  to  secure  pardon  and  purity  for  them.  Is 
it  easy  to  believe  this  1  And  with  this  central  marvel, 
there  are  all  those  wonderful  works  which  are  told  of  Him 
and  of  others,  that  surpass  all  the  powers  of  nature,  and 
bring  in  a  new  world  and  new  laws,  of  which  there  are  no 
outward,  supernatural  traces  remaining  among  us.  Then 
there  is  the  declaration  that  the  dead  who  have  slept  in 
the  grave  for  untold  ages  shall  rise,  and  that  there  is  a 
world  beyond  death  utterly  unlike  this,  where  decay  and 
sin  and  sorrow  have  no  existence.  So  strange  and 
unearthly  do  these  things  seem  to  us,  that  we  at  times  put 
the  question  to  ourselves,  '  Do  I  really  believe  them,  and 
do  I  receive  the  book  which  speaks  of  them  as  the  most 


TWO  MARVELS.  89 

certain  Word  of  God  % '  And  yet  these  things  have  been 
believed,  and  are  believed,  by  numberless  multitudes  of 
men  and  women,  of  all  ages  and  classes  and  ranks  of 
intelligence.  In  the  face  of  the  most  wonderful  features 
that  could  belong  to  any  book,  faith  in  the  Bible  has  been 
maintained.  Men  have  gone  cheerfully  into  exile  and 
prison,  and  have  mounted  the  fiery  pile,  clasping  the  Bible 
to  their  heart,  and  at  this  day,  after  all  has  been  said 
against  it  that  the  learning  and  wit  of  man  can  discover, 
there  is  no  book  that  has  gathered  so  many  hearts  to  it, 
that  has  moulded  so  many  lives,  that  could  summon  round 
it  so  many  deaths  in  ready  sacrifice.  May  we  not  marvel 
at  faith  1 

But  if  we  look  at  the  Bible  in  another  way,  we  shall 
think  unbelief  wonderful.  For,  beneath  its  fragmentary 
form,  and  amid  all  its  difficulties  of  detail,  it  has  a  unique 
and  consistent  character.  It  has  this  strange  peculiarity, 
that,  though  it  has  come  from  widely  different  men  and 
times  and  circumstances,  it  is  one  book ;  it  has  one  per- 
vading thought  and  purpose — to  bring  man  and  God 
together.  It  has  something  of  the  freedom  of  external 
nature,  with  one  life  struggling  up  through  it  to  an  ever 
more  perfect  expression.  It  tells  of  a  fall  from  God  which 
has  brought  terrible  consequences  within  and  around  us, 
in  sin  and  suffering,  and,  if  we  accept  this,  it  becomes  a 
key  to  the  contradictions  and  miseries  of  the  world,  on 
which  Pessimism  dwells  without  being  able  to  give  a  cause 
or  a  cure.  It  presents  a  plan  of  recovery  which  centres  in 
one  great  Person,  whose  character  rises  above  all  others, 
as  the  sun  rises  over  mists  and  marshes  ;  and  if  his  words 
and  his  work  be  received  they  open  the  prospect  of  a 
remedy  to  the  deep  moral  disorder  of  the  world.  The 
name  of  Christ  becomes  to  those  who  dwell  on  it  the 
name   above  every  name,  which  reveals  us  to  ourselves, 


90  TWO  MARVELS. 

meets  the  yearnings  of  our  hearts,  satisfies  the  wants  of 
our  nature,  and  points  the  way  to  the  ideal  of  perfect 
truth  and  purity  and  blessedness.  Instead  of  never-end- 
ing death  and  eternal  sepulchres,  it  opens  the  way  to 
everlasting  life  and  progress.  And  it  has  not  only 
promised  this,  but  shown  its  power  of  fulfilment.  It  has 
breathed  into  multitudes  of  men  a  new  life,  and  has 
bestowed  on  their  character  a  courage  in  action,  a  calmness 
in  suffering,  a  loftiness  and  purity,  which  have  been  the 
admiration  of  those  who  did  not  join  them  in  their  faith. 
Thousands  have  visited  its  secret  springs  of  revival,  and 
have  left  them  with  the  beams  of  a  new  gladness  on  their 
face,  like  Stephen's  when  he  looked  up  to  Christ.  It  has 
had  much  to  contend  with,  in  the  persecution  of  enemies, 
the  taunts  of  scoffers,  the  faithlessness  of  professed  friends, 
the  inconsistency  of  true  Christians  ;  but  it  has  held  its 
place  against  them  all.  In  the  proportion  in  which  its 
principles  have  penetrated  social  and  national  life,  king- 
doms and  commonwealths  have  become  strong,  and  vice 
and  misery  have  disappeared.  Whatever  objections  may 
be  made  to  parts  of  the  Bible  may  be  answered  by  its 
effect  on  the  life  of  the  man  or  the  society  that  receives 
it  in  the  entireness  of  its  spirit.  If  it  has  not  cured  the 
evils  of  human  nature,  it  is  because  it  has  not  been  truly 
and  fully  used ;  but  even  in  its  partial  working  it  has  shown 
a  power  of  transformation  greater  and  wider  than  the  world 
has  yet  witnessed  ;  and  if  a  moral  purpose  be  sought  for 
the  individual  life,  or  for  the  history  of  the  world,  there 
is  none  comparable  to  what  is  found  in  the  spirit  of 
the  Bible,  and  in  the  person  of  its  great  subject,  Jesus 
Christ.  When  some  men,  then,  assert  that  the  book  is  the 
product  of  some  imposture,  or  the  result  of  some  accident, 
may  we  not  marvel  at  their  unbelief  ? 

There  is  still  another  instance  of  this  opposition  when 


TWO  MARVELS.  91 

we  turn  to  the  course  of  life  and  its  events.     There  are  many 
things  in  the  course  of  life  which   shake  men's  faith  in 
what   may   be   called  the   providence  of   history.      The 
government  of  the  world  does  not  appear  to  be  regulated 
on  any  principles  of  justice,  and  when  men  look  up  they 
cannot  see  the  face   of  a  Lawgiver.     There  are  periods 
when  greater  apparent  confusion  enters  human  affairs,  and, 
besides  this,  there   are  times  when  the  defect  is  in  the 
spirit  of  the  onlookers.     In  an  age  of  materialism  doubts 
come  up  thick  and  heavy,  like  fungous  growths  in  dark 
recesses.     At  such  seasons  the   suggestions   of  Epicurus 
find  many  listeners,  that  the  gods,  if  there  be  any,  have 
gone  up  above  the  clouds,  and  ceased  to  concern  them- 
selves with  the  order  of  the  world.     The  poets  sing  their 
festive  songs,  and  the   essayists  write  their  easy,  pastime 
papers  to  magnify  the  present  hour,  and  put  judgment  out 
of  sight.     But  as  the  wind  blows  on  the  aspen  leaf  it  may 
turn  to  the  other  side  from  light  to   dark,  and  for  the 
thoughtless  laugh  there   may  be  the  bitter  groan.     We 
know  how  these  meet  in  the  same  age  and  in  the  same  heart, 
and  how  "  in  the  midst  of  laughter  there  is  heaviness," — 
a  philosophy  of  despair  under  a  surface  of  levity.     At  such 
a  time,  when  the  clouds  are  dense  and  far  down  and  the 
stars  are  gone  out,  even  good  men  do  not  escape  the  pres- 
sure.    Then  Job  and  his  friends  feel  the  difficulty,  and 
the  Preacher  imagines  that  "  all  things  happen  alike  to 
all."     Jeremiah  asks  the  question,  "  Wherefore  doth  the 
way  of  the  wicked  prosper  %  "     And  the  shadows  seem  to 
project  themselves  up  over  the  souls  beneath  the  altar,  till 
they  cry,  "  How  long,  0  Lord,  holy  and  true  1 "     These 
are  sore  seasons  to  pass  through,  when  the  heavens  are 
brass  and  the  earth  iron,  and  the  spiritual  breath  seems  to 
have  quitted  the  world's  frame,  and  matter  and  force  are 
proclaimed  supreme  rulers.    It  needs  more  strenuous  effort 


92  TWO  MARVELS. 

then  to  keep  hold  of  a  living  God,  "  working  salvation  in 
the  midst  of  the  earth."  This  difficulty  on  the  divine  side 
is  increased  by  symptoms  which  often  appear  on  the 
human.  There  come  outbreaks  of  lawlessness  on  the  part 
of  some,  and  of  meanness  and  selfishness  on  the  part  of 
others,  which  make  men  appear  like  "  the  flies  of  latter 
spring,"  which  "  sting  and  sing,  and  weave  their  petty  cells 
and  die."  Christian  churches  become  unfaithful  to  truth 
and  purity,  raise  any  sail  which  will  catch  the  breeze  of 
popularity,  and  make  success,  not  principle,  the  star  which 
guides  them.  The  successors  of  Judas  and  Peter  make 
their  appearance  to  betray  Christ,  or  weakly  deny  Him, 
and  the  world's  finger  of  scorn  is  pointed  to  them  with  a 
justice  which  makes  the  reproach  go  very  deep.  It  is  hard, 
when  these  times  come,  to  believe  that  they  will  pass  away, 
and  that  days  of  firm  faith  and  high-toned  integrity  will 
return.  And  yet  there  are  men  who  fasten  their  hands  on 
God's  throne  in  the  greatest  tumults  of  the  world,  and  so 
stand  firm  not  only  in  their  character,  but  in  their  hope, 
— who  believe  in  God's  sunshine  above  the  thickest  clouds 
of  doubt,  and  see  assured  victory  beyond  all  disasters  and 
desertions.  Should  we  not  say,  '  Servants  of  God,  well 
done  !'  and  marvel  at  their  faith  1 

And  they  are  right,  for  there  is  another  way  of  looking 
at  life  than  on  its  present  surface.  The  awards  even  now 
may  be  found  in  the  peace  which  goes  deep  down  into  the 
heart  of  the  man  who  holds  fast  to  his  integrity,  and  has 
an  anchor  within  the  veil.  In  the  darkest  times  and 
places  there  are  those  who  stand  fast  in  truth  and  upright- 
ness. Judas  falls,  but  Peter  returns,  and  there  are  the 
faithful  few  who  never  waver — John  at  the  cross,  the 
faithful  women  at  the  sepulchre.  When  darkness  visited 
the  world  in  that  great  eclipse,  the  meteors  fell  to  earth, 
but  the  quiet  stars  shone  out  till  light  came  again.     And 


TWO  MARVELS.  93 

in  the  many  nights  of  unbelief  which  have  obscured  the 
world  since,  God  has  never  left  Himself  without  witnesses. 
There  have  never  been  persecutions  without  the  uprising 
of  martyrs,  or  seasons  of  apostasy  from  truth  and  right- 
eousness without  men  who  would  die,  but  not  deceive. 
We  should  rejoice  greatly  when  we  find  them  still,  those 
who  in  the  mart  of  business  maintain  principle  against 
all  the  seducements  of  interest,  those  who  are  resolute 
in  hard  duty,  patient  in  tribulation,  cheerful  in  humble 
walks  and  sunless  sick-rooms,  because  they  grasp  the 
higher  law  and  discern  the  unchanging  light.  They 
are  the  martyrs  of  our  time,  and  let  us  thank  God  they 
are  not  few.  One  such  is  a  witness  to  a  living  God, 
and  to  the  truth  that  man  is  made  of  more  than  earth. 
It  is  only  a  spirit  within  him  which  can  respond  to  a 
spiritual  attraction.  And  if  we  look  through  time,  may  we 
not  discover  that  there  is  a  power  working  in  the  world 
which  is  causing  this  testimony  to  grow  1  Slowly  and 
with  many  a  turning,  but  certainly  and  onward,  we  may 
perceive  the  advance  of  a  kingdom  of  righteousness.  If  it 
cannot  be  measured  by  years  it  can  by  centuries,  in  a 
higher  standard  of  rectitude,  and  a  more  disinterested 
regard  for  human  welfare.  The  secular  mind  itself  has  its 
prophecies  of  a  brighter  future  for  the  world,  its  dreams  in 
the  clouds  though  they  do  not  rise  to  heaven,  and  though 
there  is  no  divine  ladder.  Even  this  is  a  witness  to  a  law 
of  progression  and  a  hope  of  its  kind.  Only,  it  seems 
strange  that  these  men  fail  to  see  that  but  for  Christianity 
this  power  would  want  its  mainspring.  There  is  no  such 
movement  among  the  worshippers  of  Brahma,  the  disciples 
of  Buddha,  or  the  followers  of  Mohammed ;  they  stand  still 
or  recede.  Art,  science,  and  philosophy  themselves  are 
strong  only  in  Christian  centres,  and  yet  many  of  these  men 
turn  their  back  on  the  light  that  has  given  them  the  power 


04  TWO  MARVELS. 

of  knowledge  and  the  hopes  of  progress,  amid  which  they 
live.     May  we  not  marvel  at  unbelief] 

II.  Having  looked  at  the  two  contrasted  sides,  we  shall 
now  present  briefly  some  principles  by  which  we  may 

BE  HELPED  TO  A  DECISION. 

The  first  thing  to  be  realised  is  that  God's  plan  of  im- 
pressing spiritual  truths  is  not  by  demonstration.  There  are 
many  who  object  to  Christianity,  and  to  religion  of  any 
kind,  on  the  ground  that  it  cannot  be  proved  irresistibly 
to  their  reason.  There  -  is  something  to  be  said,  they  tell 
us,  both  for  and  against  the  Bible,  and  they  remain  agnostics, 
with  this  feeling,  that  if  the  matter  were  so  important  it 
would  be  surrounded  with  evidence  which  would  leave  no 
room  for  questioning.  Now,  let  us  frankly  admit  that 
Christianity  has  no  irresistible  proof.  If  it  had,  there 
would  be  neither  unbelievers  nor  Christians,  for  in  such  a 
case  there  would  be  no  such  thing  as  faith,  but  only  know- 
ledge, and  a  Christian  is  a  man  who  has  knowledge  but 
who  also  lives  by  faith.  Keligion  would  be  pursued  and 
practised  as  mathematics  are,  or  as  science  is  when 
mathematics  are  applied  to  it.  But  observe  under  what 
system  we  should  then  be  placed.  Man  would  not  be 
capable  of  moral  freedom  in  conducting  his  life  and  form- 
ing his  character-  He  would  think  of  God  and  of  his  soul 
and  its  interests  in  the  way  in  which  a  man  builds  up  the 
propositions  of  geometry;  his  convictions  would  be  the 
theorems,  and  his  actions  the  problems  which  were  fastened 
to  one  another  by  iron  links.  Man  would  be  a  creature 
of  mind,  but  where  would  there  be  room  for  his  heart  and 
its  loving  surrender  to  God,  for  his  will  and  its  resolve  to 
listen  to  the  divine  voice  and  obey  it  1  These  can  only 
exist  where  man  has  power  to  give  himself  away,  that  is, 
where  he  has  moral  freedom.    And  if  we  take  away  freedom 


TWO  MARVELS.  95 

and  love  and  will  in  man's  relation  to  God,  there  would  be 
no  meaning  in  them  as  between  man  and  man.     If  we 
destroy  the  source  there  can  be  no  streams,  and  sympathy 
and  love  and  gratitude,  the  feelings  which  unite  men  in 
families  and  friendships,  cease  to  exist ;  these  have  their 
life,  not  in  necessary  chains  of  reasoning,  but  in  the  free  ex- 
change of  the  soul.  In  such  a  world  God  might  be  a  supreme 
architect  and  mechanician,  building  up  a  universe  by  fixed 
physical  laws ;  He  might  even  be  an  author  of  scientific 
thought  leading  forth  intellects  into    higher   and   wider 
investigations  in  the  track  of  his  own  creations ;  but  He 
could  not  be  a  Father  and  Friend,  drawing  to  Him  the  love 
of  children  for  the  glimpses  they  have  of  the    supreme 
beauty  of  his  purity,  and  the  pulsations  that  come  throb- 
bing from  the  love  of  his  heart.     The  universe  might  be  a 
temple,  but  where  would  be  the  worshippers  with  songs 
of  love  and  joy  and  self-devotion  ?    The  interest  which  men 
of  science  find  in  their  researches  has,  no  doubt,  something 
of  the  pleasure  of  intellectual  power  in  exercise,  of  pursuit 
and  attainment  and  surprise,  but  much  also  of  the  half- 
conscious  feeling  that  the  world  they  are  studying  is  not 
one  of  dead  atoms  or  hard  theoretic  thought,  but  of  life, 
with  secret  springs  of  feeling  in  it  which  freshen  them 
when  they  are  not  well  aware.     Were  it  a  universe  of 
mere  rigid  thinking  and  demonstration,  it  is  difficult  to 
see  why  there  should  be  a  world  of  immortality  beyond 
it.     It  would  be  a  world  where  the  growth  would  be  that 
of  calculating  pieces  of  mechanism,  a  surface  growth  with- 
out  depth    or   height,   no    deepening   of  the    nature   in 
reverence  and  affection  to  the  Father  of  spirits,  no  ascent 
step  by  step  in  approach  to  the  infinite  fulness  of  his 
holiness  and  love.     Let  us  seek  to  understand  this  well, 
and  we  shall  not  be  surprised  and  perplexed  by  the  fact 
that  God  does  not  make  spiritual  truths  subject  to  the 


96  TWO  MARVELS. 

laws  of  mental  demonstration.  He  could  not  do  it  with- 
out making  them  no  more  spiritual — without  depriving 
man  of  his  freedom,  and  leaving  him  no  room  for  his 
heart  and  conscience  and  spirit.  If  there  are  to  be  ties 
of  sympathy  between  man  and  God,  and  an  immortality 
which  has  in  its  bosom  an  eternal  life,  man  must  be  dealt 
with  as  capable,  not  only  of  knowledge,  but  of  the  choice 
of  love.  God  has  made  man  capable  of  faith,  but  there- 
fore also  of  unbelief ;  the  kind  of  proof  He  gives  him  may 
persuade,  but  it  will  not  constrain.  God  does  not  force 
his  own  existence  upon  men.  He  gives  them  reasons  to 
seek  and  discover  Him,  "  if  haply  we  might  feel  after 
Him  and  find  Him,  though  He  be  not  far  from  every  one 
of  us."  Christ,  who  loves  man  so  much,  will  not  force  the 
door  of  his  will.  There  would  be  no  love  if  He  did.  He 
is  very  careful  of  the  mysterious  power  He  has  bestowed 
on  man ;  very  courteous,  we  may  say  it  with  all  reverence, 
when  He  asks  an  entrance.  "  Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door 
and  knock ,  if  any  man  open,  I  will  come  in  " — 0  how 
gladly  !  and  then  in  the  fellowship  there  shall  follow  full 
conviction. 

The  next  remark  we  make  is  that  to  reach  a  decision 
in  faith,  we  should  look  at  things  in  their  full  breadth  and 
in  their  practical  bearing.  From  the  view  we  have  been 
taking  of  unbelief  and  faith,  we  may  perceive  that  unbelief 
in  spiritual  things  proceeds  often  from  the  too  exclusive 
study  of  details,  from  analysis  without  reconstruction,  and 
that  faith  is  helped  by  the  wider  view.  There  may  be  a 
man  of  vast  learning  and  acuteness,  a  master  of  science 
and  criticism,  who  cannot  judge  rightly  of  the  life  of  any 
subject  because  he  studies  it  in  parts,  and  does  not  regard 
it  as  a  whole.  The  more  minute  the  parts,  the  further  are 
they  from  life ;  and  the  soul  is  not  in  any  one  part,  but  in 
the  union  of  them  all.    The  eye  of  an  inquirer  may  become 


TWO  MARVELS.  97 

so  microscopic  that  he  can  detect  the  smallest  differences, 
but  if  he  looks  only  at  them,  he  may  lose  the  power  of 
adjusting  his  vision  to  the  compass  of  their  agreement. 
The  dust  of  details  may  blind  a  man,  and  he  becomes  like 
the  fly  of  which  Addison  speaks,  which  creeps  up  the 
pillar  of  St.  Paul's  and  measures  with  its  foot  the  smallest 
inequalities,  but  has  no  perception  of  their  span  and  of 
the  overarching  dome.  We  may  dissect  God's  universe 
till  God  himself,  who  is  the  life  of  it,  disappears ;  and  we 
may  anatomise  the  Bible  till  Christ  is  not  seen  in  it,  and 
we  have  nothing  left  but  words  and  phrases  and  shades 
of  speech.  "We  can  never  have  too  much  of  careful  and 
close  study,  but  to  see  the  full  truth  we  must  draw  back 
our  view,  and  look  at  things  not  merely  with  the  close 
inspection  of  students,  but  with  the  eyes  and  feelings 
of  men.  Then  the  details  of  the  world  become  a  universe 
again,  and  God's  face  looks  out  from  it ;  the  books  of  the 
canon  become  a  Bible,  and  Christ  moves  through  it  to  give 
it  meaning  and  soul.  We  only  carry  out  this  view  when  we 
say  that  we  must  look  at  things  not  merely  in  their  breadth 
but  in  their  practical  bearing.  What  man  needs  both  for 
body  and  soul  is  the  nourishment  of  his  life,  and  whatever 
makes  his  life  strongest,  most  real  and  vivid,  attests  there- 
by its  truth.  What  cannot  live  and  move,  or  in  some  way 
help  life  and  movement,  is  not  made  for  this  world.  That 
view  of  the  universe  will  prevail  which  gives  man  the 
noblest  prospects,  and  puts  him  on  the  way  to  reach  them ; 
and  that  conception  of  Christianity  will  conquer  which 
makes  men  most  just  and  pure  and  benevolent,  that  is, 
most  like  Christ.  The  true  spiritual  medicine  is  that 
which  cures  the  diseases  of  the  soul ;  the  bread  of  life  is 
that  which  gives  most  strength  for  suffering  evil  in  the  day 
of  adversity,  and  for  doing  good  to  all  as  we  have  oppor- 
tunity.    It  may  be  said,  this  is  a  utilitarian    test,  and 

G 


98  TWO  MARVELS. 

so  it  is,  for  utility  is  a  true  test  if  we  put  into  it  the 
true  things — not  those  which  concern  time  and  secular 
advantage  merely,  but  those  which  give  to  the  spirit  life 
and  power.  The  way  to  approach  this  question,  then,  is 
to  apply  to  it  our  reason,  for  God  gives  us  sufficient 
grounds  to  lead  us  to  count  true  the  testimony  He  has 
given  us  of  Christ,  and  to  take,  besides,  our  whole  nature 
and  bring  it  into  contact  with  the  remedy  He  has  provided. 
From  the  very  nature  of  the  case  we  can  reach  full  convic- 
tion only  by  experience.  As  the  heart  is  renewed,  as  the 
conscience  is  enlightened,  as  the  will  is  strengthened,  as 
the  life  of  the  spirit  is  elevated,  we  increase  our  certainty, 
and  unbelief  gives  place  to  faith. 

We  remark  therefore,  finally,  that  to  have  faith  raised  to 
certainty  we  must  find  it  in  the  life.  We  are  assured  of  our 
existence  in  the  physical  world  by  the  fact  of  our  life  in  it. 
There  is  no  way  of  demonstrating  it  either  to  ourselves  or 
others.  It  may  be  asserted  to  me  that  I  dream  when  I 
am  waking,  or  that  my  view  of  the  world  itself  is  but  a 
waking  dream.  But  the  one  answer  is,  '  I  know  that  I 
live.'  And  we  must  endeavour  to  advance  to  this  conscious- 
ness in  the  spiritual  world  ;  we  must  seek  its  life  till  we 
know  it  and  are  sure  of  it.  The  difference  between  the  two 
is  this,  that  our  conviction  of  the  life  of  the  physical  world 
is  instantaneous,  and  is  forced  on  us  whether  we  will  or 
not ;  but  conviction  of  spiritual  life  comes  gradually,  and  is 
gained  by  choice  and  effort.  In  some  cases  it  may  come 
more  quickly  than  in  others,  but  in  every  case  it  must  enter 
by  our  free  will.  And  the  reason  of  the  difference  is 
that  spiritual  life  can  be  reached  in  no  other  way.  It  can- 
not be  forced  upon  us  by  the  impression  of  the  senses  or 
by  the  demonstration  of  the  intellect  j  it  must  enter  by 
the  attraction  of  the  heart.  We  may  be  brought  to  the 
conviction  that  there  is  an  architecture  of  the  universe  by 


TWO  MARVELS.  99 

the  study  of  its  physical  laws,  but  to  believe  firmly  in  an 
Architect  requires  some  personal  contact  with  Him,  and  to 
have  faith  in  Him  as  a  Father  and  a  Friend  requires  the 
surrender  of  ourselves.  There  is  no  other  way  ;  to  live  a 
spiritual  life  we  must  choose  to  live,  and  in  the  choice  of 
the  life  comes  the  conviction  of  its  reality  and  of  its  divine 
excellence.  When  God  by  his  Holy  Spirit  acts  on  our 
nature,  He  deals  by  a  mighty  power  of  persuasion.  He 
makes  us  willing;  and  when  Christ  gives  the  reason  of  our 
exclusion  from  this  divine  realm,  He  says,  "  Ye  will  not 
come  unto  Me  that  ye  might  have  life."  There  must  be 
room  therefore  left  in  the  spiritual  world  for  unbelief  as 
there  is  room  for  faith.  The  world  is  so  made  that  it 
admits  of  both,  or  rather  men  do  so  make  themselves  that 
they  turn  to  the  one  side  or  the  other,  and  find  reasons  by 
which  they  sustain  their  conclusions.  In  whatever  way 
the  world  might  have  been  made,  this  state  of  the  case 
could  not  be  altered.  Souls,  whether  of  men  or  angels, 
could  become  God's  children  only  by  having  the  child-like 
heart,  and  if  this  is  rejected  any  conviction  about  God  is 
no  door  to  true  faith  in  Him ;  it  could  only  make  them 
believe  and  tremble.  Their  faith,  if  we  may  so  call  it, 
would  be  their  punishment  and  loss. 

There  are  two  struggles  in  men's  nature  :  the  one  to  end 
ignorance  by  knowledge,  the  other  to  end  doubt  by  cer- 
tainty; light  and  life,  the  mind  and  the  spirit.  God's 
will  is  that  the  soul  should  rest  by  life,  by  life  alone ;  so  it 
grows  by  faith,  by  reverence,  by  love,  by  the  very  life  of 
God  received  into  the  soul.  "  With  Thee  is  the  fountain 
of  life,  in  thy  light  we  shall  see  light." 


VII. 

THE   FIRST   HOME   MISSION. 

11  Andrew  first  findeth  his  own  brother  Simon,  and 
saith  unto  him,  We  have  found  the  Me.sskts,  which  is, 
being  interpreted,  the  Christ.  And  he  brought  him  to 
Jesus." — John  i.  41,  42. 

The  history  in  the  beginning  of  John's  Gospel  may 
teach  us  many  lessons ;  for  the  Bible  is  like  a  gem  with 
different  facets,  each  one  of  which  sparkles  with  its  own 
light. 

We  cannot  help,  for  example,  being  struck  with  the 
clearness  and  graphic  reality  of  the  narrative.  It  is  the 
commencement  of  the  greatest  movement  that  has  ever 
taken  place  in  the  world,  the  Christian  Church ;  and 
here,  as  from  a  transparent  little  well,  we  can  see  the 
first  gush  and  overflow — the  well  of  life  which  is  in  Christ 
running  over  to  begin  the  long  course  and  windings  of 
that  river  which  makes  glad  the  city  of  God. 

We  have  here,  too,  the  beginning  of  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  human  characters,  that  of  the  apostle  John.  It 
is  he  who  tells  the  story,  and  we  can  see  his  warmth  of 
heart  and  retiring  modesty  in  the  way  in  which  he  tells 
it.  "  One  of  the  two  disciples,"  he  says,  "  was  Andrew, 
Simon  Peter's  brother."  He  was  the  other,  but  he  keeps 
himself  unnamed.  He  remains  in  the  shade  that  he  may 
let  us  look  on  others,  and,  above  all,  look  on  Christ. 
And  we  have  a  view  not  only  of  what  we  can  call  his 
natural,  but  of   what    we    can    call   his  Christian  spirit. 

100 


THE  FIRST  HOME  MISSION.  101 

This  was  the  day  of  his  first  acquaintance  with  Jesus 
Christ.  He  was  the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved,  in 
whom  there  was,  perhaps  beyond  all  others,  the  purest, 
deepest  affection  to  Christ — at  the  last  supper,  at  his 
cross,  at  his  grave.  Many  years  have  come  and  gone 
since  this  first  meeting,  years  filled  with  strange  and 
absorbing  events ;  but  every  little  incident  comes  up 
fresh  as  if  it  had  happened  yesterday.  He  speaks  of  it 
day  by  day  and  hour  by  hour — of  Jesus  as  He  walked, 
of  his  words  as  He  asked  the  two  friends  to  his  dwelling ; 
all  is  imprinted  on  his  heart,  and  will  be  to  death  and 
through  eternity. 

And  from  all  these  things  we  may  infer  the  truth  of 
the  history,  that  it  is  from  the  hand  of  an  eye-witness, 
and  the  eye-witness  the  same  disciple  who  elsewhere  says, 
"What  we  have  seen  and  heard  declare  we  unto  you, 
that  ye  also  may  have  fellowship  with  us."  But,  besides 
all  these  views,  there  is  another  well  worthy  of  our  atten- 
tion. We  have  here  the  first  Home  Mission  in  the  Chris- 
tian Church.  We  cannot  tell  certainly  who  was  the  first 
foreign  missionary.  The  greatest  who  ever  lived  or 
laboured  was  probably  the  apostle  Paul.  But  we  can 
scarcely  say  he  was  the  first.  Peter  was  before  him  when 
he  preached  to  Cornelius  the  centurion,  and  Philip  the 
evangelist  when  he  brought  the  Ethiopian  eunuch  to  the 
faith  of  Christ,  and  sent  him  with  the  tidings  into  the 
heart  of  dark  and  oppressed  Africa.  But  we  know  who 
was  the  first  home  missionary.  It  was  Andrew,  when  he 
first  got  to  know  Chris b,  and  then  went  to  his  brother 
Simon,  and  said  to  him,  "  We  have  found  the  Christ. 
And  he  brought  him  to  Jesus."  Now,  no  doubt,  this  is 
written  for  our  instruction,  .and  we  shall  mention  some 
things  about  this  first  home  mission  in  the  Christian 
Church  for  our  guidance  and  encouragement. 


102  THE  FIRST  HOME  MISSION. 

1.  We  have  here  the  spring  of  all  true  home  mission 
work.  Andrew  had  himself  made  acquaintance  with  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He  had  been  in  the  house  with  Him 
for  hours  on  that  first  evening  when  they  met  in  close  and 
earnest  conversation,  and  the  result  of  it  was  the  dis- 
covery, "  We  have  found  the  Christ."  There  is  no  record 
of  that  conversation  left  to  us.  We  know  what  formed 
the  subject  of  another,  years  afterwards,  with  the  two 
disciples  who  journeyed  to  Emmaus.  It  was,  "  Ought  not 
Christ  to  have  suffered  these  things,  and  to  enter  into  his 
glory  ?  "  when,  "  beginning  at  Moses  and  all  the  prophets, 
He  expounded  unto  them  in  all  the  Scriptures  the  things 
concerning  Himself,"  when  "He  went  in  to  tarry  with 
them,  and  was  made  known  in  the  breaking  of  bread." 
He  could  not  make  Himself  so  clearly  known  to  Andrew 
and  John,  for  they  were  not  yet  prepared ;  but  the  con- 
versation was  about  the  same  things,  the  things  concern- 
ing Himself.  The  Baptist  had  pointed  Him  out  as  the 
Son  of  God  and  the  Lamb  of  God,  and  these  are  the 
two  great  truths  which  fill  the  Bible  from  beginning  to 
end.  They  dawn  gradually  on  the  hearts  of  those  who 
look  for  Him,  but  the  light,  whether  it  be  that  of  the 
faint  sunrise  or  the  full  mid-day,  is  of  the  same  saving 
and  gladdening  kind.  It  left  these  two  disciples  convinced 
that  all  the  deep  desires  of  their  heart,  and  all  the  pro- 
mises of  the  Word  of  God,  were  fulfilled  in  Him  who  spoke 
to  them ;  and  so  they  were  ready  to  go  from  the  house 
with  the  message,  "  We  have  found  the  Christ." 

This  must  still  be  the  spring  of  all  true  mission  work. 
We  must  come  into  personal  contact  with  Christ,  we  must 
be  in  the  house  with  Him,  we  must  learn  to  know  Him 
as  the  Son  of  God  and  the  Lamb  of  God — as  that  One 
who  came  from  his  Father  to  be  our  Brother,  to  share 
our  nature  and  to  bear  our  sins  and  to  take  us  back  to 


THE  FIRST  HOME  MISSION.  103 

God  as  his  Father  and  our  Father,  his  God  and  our  God 
— a  Friend  in  sickness  and  sorrow  and  death,  who  points 
us  through  death  to  life  eternal.  "  In  my  Father's  house 
are  many  mansions :  if  it  were  not  so,  I  would  have  told 
you.  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you.  And  if  I  go  and 
prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  again,  and  receive  you 
unto  Myself;  that  where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be  also." 
This  is  the  one  great  discovery,  compared  with  which  all 
other  inventions  are  shortlived  opiates  of  an  hour — a 
little  ease  on  the  road  to  death.  If  there  are  those  who 
have  given  up  all  hope  of  finding  such  a  friend,  no  wonder 
they  put  the  question,  Is  life  worth  living  1  Is  a  man 
better  than  a  beast  1  Nay,  is  he  not  worse,  for  the  beasts 
have  no  such  desires,  and  cannot  be  disappointed  ]  But 
those  who  by  God's  grace  can  say,  "  We  have  found  " — 
yes,  we  have  found  "  the  Christ,"  a  Saviour  from  sin  and 
death,  an  almighty  and  all-merciful  Brother  and  Friend — 
these  know  that  life  is  worth  living,  for  "  in  his  favour  is 
life,  and  his  loving-kindness  is  better  than  life."  In  the 
degree  in  which  churches  or  men  have  been  in  the  house 
with  Christ,  and  have  learned  to  know  Him,  will  they  be 
ready  to  go  out  with  the  message  to  others.  It  is  the 
depth  and  fulness  of  this  discovery  which  blesses  ourselves, 
and  makes  us  anxious  to  carry  the  blessing  to  our  fellow- 
men. 

"  Now,  methinks,  I  hear  him  praising, 
Publishing  to  all  around  : 
Friends,  is  not  my  case  amazing  ? 
What  a  Saviour  I  have  found !  " 

2.  The  next  thing  we  would  have  you  to  remark  is  the 
object  of  the  first  home  mission.  "  And  he  brought  him  to 
Jesus."  It  was  not  enough  for  Andrew  to  speak  to  his 
brother  about  Christ,  and  tell  him  some  things  he  had 
heard  and  felt ;  his  aim  is  to  bring  him  as  close  to  Christ 


104  THE  FIRST  HOME  MISSION. 

as  he  himself  had  been,  into  the  house  to  listen  for  him- 
self, and  look  upon  and  learn  to  love  his  person.  And 
in  any  mission  work  we  undertake  we  should  be  satisfied 
with  nothing  less  than  this.  We  may  use  every  persua- 
sion in  our  power,  but  the  end  of  it  all  is  to  bring  men 
into  personal  contact  with  Christ.  It  is  not  instruction 
which  will  suffice,  not  emotions  or  impressions,  not  convic- 
tions of  sin,  not  laying  aside  some  evil  habits,  not  coming 
to  church,  not  sitting  down  at  the  Lord's  Table  ;  all  these 
have  their  place,  but  they  will  not  avail  without  coming  to 
Christ  himself.  Christ  does  not  say,  '  Come  to  a  better 
mind,  come  to  reformation,  come  to  church,  come  to  the 
Communion/  but  "  Come  unto  Me."  There  is  no  real  life 
in  all  the  rest,  no  security,  no  endurance,  unless  we  bring 
men  to  Christ  himself.  Here  is  a  lesson  for  parents 
with  their  children,  for  a  teacher  with  his  scholars,  for  a 
missionary  or  minister  with  his  hearers.  We  must  neither 
begin  nor  end  with  ourselves,  but  point  from  first  to  last 
to  Christ.  It  is  not  '  Come  to  our  station,  our  school,  our 
church,'  but  '  Come  with  us  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.' 
Christ  has  said,  "  Go  into  the  highways  and  hedges,  and 
compel  them  to  come  in,  that  my  house  may  be  filled,"' — 
not  your  house,  but  mine ;  and  the  best  thing  that  can  be 
said  about  our  house  is  that  it  is  a  door  to  the  house  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  So  let  us  make  Andrew's  object 
ours  :  u  And  he  brought  him  to  Jesus." 

In  this  object  of  Andrew  there  are  some  things  worthy 
of  notice.  He  was  perfectly  sure  that  Christ  was  willing 
to  receive  his  brother,  just  as  willing  as  He  was  to  receive 
himself.  It  does  not  appear  that  Christ  had  said  anything 
about  this  j  he  left  it,  in  the  first  place,  to  the  feeling  of 
Andrew's  own  heart.  And  Andrew  does  not  seem  to 
have  thought  it  needful  to  ask  Christ  whether  He  would 
make  his  brother  welcome.     He  knew  it  from  the  way  in 


THE  FIRST  HOME  MISSION.  105 

which  He  had  welcomed  him,  and  conversed  with  him — 
from  the  opening  of  his  heart  in  the  words  of  truth  and 
grace  He  had  spoken.  If  Peter  had  been  disposed  to  ob- 
ject that  his  coming  might  be  looked  on  as  an  intrusion  on 
the  privacy  and  leisure  of  the  great  Teacher,  Andrew 
would  have  said,  '  ^Vhy,  brother,  if  I  could  come  and  be 
welcome,  why  not  you  ]  He  saw  me  following  and  bade 
me  enter.  He  has  an  open  door  and  an  open  heart  for  all 
who  wish  to  speak  to  Him  about  these  things.  I  am  sure 
He  never  would  refuse  any  :  come  and  see ' — "  and  he 
brought  him  to  Jesus." 

And  you  may  see,  also,  that  in  this  object  of  bringing 
his  brother  to  Christ  Andrew  is  sure  that  he  himself  can 
have  his  own  share  in  no  way  diminished.  There  would 
not  be  less  of  truth  aud  love  falling  to  his  lot  when  Peter 
came  to  have  his  part.  If  a  man  covets  land  or  wealth 
or  power,  the  more  he  gives  away  the  less  he  possesses. 

':  If  I  possess  riches  or  lands,  I  may 
Bestow  them,  till  they  are  consumed  away. " 

But  let  a  man  bring  others  to  the  treasures  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  his  own  share  will  be  increased,  u  his 
bliss  still  growing  when  with  millions  shared."  I  think  if 
there  be  any  shade  of  regret  in  heaven,  it  will  be  that  we 
did  not  bring  more  to  that  house  of  many  mansions  to 
swell  its  songs  and  share  its  joys  ;  and  so  let  us  make 
Andrew's  aim  ours  when  he  found  his  brother  and 
"  brought  him  to  Jesus." 

3.  The  next  thing  we  would  have  you  observe  is  the 
place  of  this  mission.  It  was  in  the  most  emphatic  sense 
a  home  mission  ;  and  this  has  its  lesson  for  us.  There  are 
some  who  say  we  should  have  nothing  but  home  missions 
— no  foreign  missions  till  our  own  country  is  redeemed 
from  sin  and  ignorance.     f  Why  think  of  Caftreland  and 


106  THE  FIRST  HOME  MISSION. 

China  until  you  have  Christianised  your  own  wynds  and 
villages  % '  But  these  people  forget  that  when  Christ  said, 
"  Preach  the  Gospel  among  all  nations,  beginning  at  Jeru- 
salem," He  did  not  say  stopping  at  Jerusalem.  They 
forget  that  if  the  apostles  had  acted  on  their  principle  we 
should  have  been  heathen  still.  They  forget,  moreover, 
that  it  was  only  when  the  Church  of  Christ  began  to  think 
seriously  of  the  foreign  heathen  that  she  had  her  thoughts 
turned  to  the  home  heathen.  We  generally  find  that 
those  who  are  always  talking  of  confining  our  attention  to 
the  home  heathen  are  those  who  do  least  for  them.  But 
let  us  see  a  man  who,  like  the  apostle  Paul,  burns  with 
zeal  for  the  salvation  of  the  whole  world,  and  we  shall 
have  one  who  is  ready  to  say  like  him,  "  I  have  great 
heaviness  and  continual  sorrow  in  my  heart  for  my 
brethren,  my  kinsmen  according  to  the  flesh."  This  is 
one  of  the  cases  in  which  we  may  hear  our  Lord  saying, 
"  These  ought  ye  to  have  done,  and  not  to  leave  the  other 
undone." 

But  this  surely  we  may  say,  that  in  our  zeal  for  the 
foreign  heathen  we  are  not  to  forget  our  own  kinsfolk  ; 
and  here  are  some  reasons.  They  have  not  the  only  claim 
upon  us,  but  they  have  the  first  claim.  "We  are  to  begin 
with  them  as  Andrew  did.  "  Go  home  to  thy  friends," 
the  Lord  said,  "  and  tell  them  what  great  things  the 
Lord  hath  done  for  thee."  And  even  when  we  move  forth 
to  the  foreign  heathen,  to  prove  the  all-embracing  love  of 
the  Gospel,  we  are  to  abide  and  labour  among  the  home 
heathen,  that  we  may  prove  its  long-suffering  mercy  and 
patient  continuance  in  well-doing.  The  Gospel  has  a 
voice,  like  its  Master,  for  him  that  is  far  off  and  for 
him  that  is  nigh. 

And  even  for  our  own  sakes  we  must  think  of  home. 
We  cannot  let  masses  of  ignorance  and  sin  and  wretched- 


THE  FIEST  HOME  MISSION.  107 

ness  fester  and  grow,  without  bringing  a  blight  on  our  own 
Christianity.     It  is  like   having  an  unwholesome   marsh 
beside  our  house  ;  it  spreads  malaria  and  fever  and  ague. 
Think  of  your  children  living  in  this  atmosphere,  and  of 
the  danger  to  them  in  the  sights  and  sounds  and  associa- 
tions around  them.    To  keep  our  families  and  our  churches 
in  health,  or  even  in  life,  we  must  work  to  counteract  the 
evil  about  us.    So  God  seeks  to  compel  us  not  to  hide  our 
face  from  our  own  flesh.     If  we  will  not  do  them  good 
we  shall  share  in  their  evil.     We  must  rise  or  fall  together. 
Think  of  this,  moreover,  that  in  the  home  mission  field 
there  is  opportunity  for  every  one  of  us  to  do  something 
personally.     Few  of  us  can  go  to  the  foreign  field.     We 
cannot   cross  the    seas    and   learn   a   new   and    difficult 
language.     But  there  is  always  a  sphere  not  far  from  our 
own  door,  where  we  can  use  our  own  tongue  and  employ 
whatever  influence  we  may  have  for  good.     It  seems  to 
be  part  of  the  divine  plan  that  this  opportunity  should  be 
given  to  Christians  for  the  benefit  it  brings  to  themselves 
to  obey  the  divine  command,  "  Son,  daughter,  go  work 
to-day  in  my  vineyard."     It  is  thus  we  are  to  be  like  our 
Master,  "  going  about  doing  good,"  and  to  grow  always 
more  like  Him  in  the  work  of  doing  it.     It  is  quite  true 
that  we  Christians  shall  need  to  live  higher  and  more  con- 
sistent lives  if  we  are  to  do  this  with  success,  but  would 
not  this  be  a  happy  necessity  1     As  the  Church  labours  for 
the  world  around  her,  she  would  feel  the  duty  of  arising 
and  shaking  herself  from  the  dust  and  putting  on   her 
beautiful  garments,  that  she  may  become  Jerusalem,  the 
holy  city.     We  should,  each  one,  ask  ourselves,  What  place 
lies  nearest    to  me,    nearest  in  opportunity  and  hope  of 
influence  !    To  what  friend,  to  what  neighbour,  can  I  speak 
a  word  or  do  an  act  that  shall  help  to  bring  him  into 
contact  with  Christ  1   Sure  we  are  that  the  world  will  never 


I  08  THE  FIRST  HOME  MISSION. 

be  put  right  by  ministers  and  missionaries,  as  no  battle  will 
ever  be  gained  by  captains  and  officers.  There  is  room 
for  all  here,  and  need  for  all ;  there  is  no  discharge  in  this 
war.  If  we  could  but  see  this  spirit  of  personal  responsi- 
bility spreading,  it  would  be  a  happy  presage  for  the  world, 
and  for  the  Church  herself,  for  growth  in  number  and 
growth  in  character.  It  would  be  a  return  to  the  first 
fountain  of  influence,  personal  contact  with  Christ,  when 
Andrew  went  out  from  Him  and  found  his  brother  and 
brought  him  to  Jesus. 

4.  Look  at  the  time  chosen  for  this  first  home  mission. 
Andrew  did  not  wait  to  speak  to  his  brother  till  he  had 
been  made  an  apostle,  or  even  till  he  had  become  one  of 
Christ's  regular  disciples.  He  began  at  once.  And  there 
is  a  lesson  here  for  ministers.  If  we  never  think  about 
doing  good  to  the  souls  of  men  till  we  are  licensed  by  the 
Presbytery,  we  should  think  seriously  if  we  ought  to  be 
licensed  at  all ;  and  if,  when  we  are  licensed  or  ordained, 
we  look  upon  our  work  as  a  task,  and  measure  carefully 
what  we  have  to  do  and  what  we  have  not  to  do,  we 
should  ask  ourselves,  Is  this  not  the  place  of  a  hireling  1 
Christ  sent  out  some  who  should  devote  themselves 
exclusively  to  such  work,  but  they  must  feel  first  that  they 
have  a  call  from  Him ;  they  must  have  answered  it,  "  Here 
am  I,  send  me ; "  and  they  must  devote  themselves  to  it, 
"  in  season  and  out  of  season,"  with  their  strength  as  the 
only  measure  of  their  service.  It  is  this  which  makes  the 
Christian  ministry  not  a  profession  but  a  work  of  love, 
and  the  ministers  not  hirelings  but  the  servants  of  Christ 
for  the  good  of  men.  They  must  begin  and  continue  in 
the  spirit  of  Andrew,  not  counting  hours,  but  watching 
opportunities  and  forgetting  self  in  love  to  the  souls  of 
men  and  zeal  for  the  glory  of  Christ. 


THE  FIRST  HOME  MISSION.  109 

And  the  same  lesson  comes  home  to  all.  A  man  may 
never  think  of  being  a  minister  or  missionary  ;  he  may 
have  other  ways  of  serving  God  in  the  world,  which  he 
feels  to  be  more  suitable  for  him  ;  but  he  is  not  thereby 
freed  from  the  duty  of  beginning  at  once  to  speak  a  word 
to  his  brother  about  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  Some  may 
object  that  the  apostle  has  said,  "  not  a  novice,  lest  he  be 
lifted  up  with  pride ; "  but  you  will  observe  that  the 
apostle  is  speaking  of  those  who  are  to  be  full  teachers  of 
Christian  truth.  Our  Lord  kept  his  disciples  three  years 
under  his  eye  and  teaching  before  He  commissioned  them 
to  the  world ;  but  He  approved  every  one  who  did  work 
for  Him  up  to  his  knowledge.  And  it  is  not  necessary 
to  wait  for  a  great  deal  of  knowledge ;  let  us  use  the 
knowledge  we  have,  not  pretending  to  more.  If  we  have 
five  talents,  let  us  lay  out  the  five ;  if  two,  let  us  deal  with 
the  two  ;  if  one,  let  us  not  hide  it  in  the  earth.  The  way 
to  have  it  increased  and  to  get  the  approbation  of  our 
Master  is  to  say,  '  I  have  only  one,  but  I  will  do  what  I 
can  with  the  one.'  All  cannot  speak  in  public,  all  cannot 
teach  in  the  Sabbath-school,  all  cannot  go  from  house  to 
house  and  influence  strangers,  but  what  one  is  there  who 
has  not  some  friend,  some  acquaintance,  some  neighbour, 
by  whom  his  word  will  be  regarded  1  Let  him  speak  to 
him,  and  let  him  live  so  that  his  life  will  let  him  speak. 
This  is  the  greatest  thing  of  all,  that  a  Christian  man 
should  have  his  life  behind  his  word  ;  then  the  word  tells. 
So  it  was  with  Christ  :  "  in  Him  was  life,  and  the  life  was 
the  light."  The  life  sometimes  speaks  for  itself,  like  the 
sunlight  which  shines  and  never  says  a  word ;  but  gener- 
ally the  word  is  needed  to  guide  men  to  where  the  light 
comes  from.  It  may  be  a  brief  word  like  that  of  the  Samari- 
tan woman:  "Come,  see  a  man  which  told  me  all  things  that 
ever  I  did  :  is  not  this  the  Christ]"     Or  it  may  be  briefer 


1 1 0  THE  FIRST  HOME  MISSION. 

still,  like  that  of  Andrew  :  "  We  have  found  the  Christ." 
But  it  will  serve  the  purpose  if  it  leads  the  man  to  where 
he  will  learn  more.  This  is,  indeed,  all  that  any  of  us  can 
do.  We  may  use  more  words,  but,  if  we  are  true  speakers, 
all  we  say  is,  '  We  have  found  the  Christ ;  He  has  met  our 
need,  answered  our  desire.  He  will  meet  yours ;  will 
you  not  come  and  see  V  Let  us  aim  at  this  so  soon  as  we 
have  found  Christ,  whether  our  words  be  many  or  few, 
and  bring  men  to  Jesus. 

5.  The  next  thing  we  say  is,  Let  us  learn  from  the 
spirit  of  the  first  home  mission.  Andrew  went  to  his 
brother  ;  he  did  so  from  his  interest  in  him ;  and,  no  doubt, 
all  that  a  brother's  heart  could  feel  was  put  into  his  man- 
ner and  words.  He  did  this  naturally,  not  from  calcula- 
tion, but  because  he  had  it  in  his  heart.  It  is  in  this  spirit 
we  must  go  to  our  fellow-men,  whether  they  be  closely 
related  or  not.  They  are  our  brethren,  with  the  same 
nature,  the  same  needs,  the  same  sins  and  sorrows,  the  same 
eternal  destinies.  We  should  stir  up  our  hearts  with  the 
thought  of  these  things,  and  then  it  will  find  its  way  into 
our  words  and  bearing  and  very  looks.  It  is  love  to  Christ 
and  love  to  men  that  are  the  secret  of  power  in  Christian 
persuasion.  We  shall  never  have  great  success  otherwise. 
There  is  a  story  told  of  a  young  man  who  had  fallen 
through  the  ice,  and  was  holding  on  to  the  edge  in  the 
agony  of  a  death-struggle.  They  pushed  a  plank  towards 
him,  but  the  end  of  it  was  covered  with  ice,  and  again  and 
again  his  fingers  slipped.  "  For  mercy's  sake,"  he  cried, 
"  don't  give  me  the  frozen  side."  We  must  not  give  men 
the  frozen  side.  God  does  not  give  the  frozen  side  to  us 
when  He  so  loved  the  world  as  to  send  his  Son  j  Christ 
does  not  give  the  frozen  side  when  He  is  not  ashamed  to 
call  us  brethren ;  the  Holy  Spirit  does  not  give  the  frozen 


THE  FIRST  HOME  MISSION.  1 1 1 

side  when  He  strives  and  suffers  long.  And  we  must  go  to 
men  as  those  who  have  felt  all  this,  and  who  wish  them 
to  feel  it  also.  There  is  a  sympathetic  bond  in  these  things 
stronger  than  the  touch  of  nature  which  makes  the  whole 
world  kin.  It  is  the  new  nature  seeking  to  build  up  the 
new  and  blessed  family.  And  in  carrying  it  out  we  may 
learn  a  lesson  here.  Andrew  did  not  say  to  his  brother, 
*  Go : '  he  took  him  by  the  hand  and  led  him.  There  is  a 
way  of  urging  men  to  Christ  as  if  we  stood  on  higher 
ground,  and  did  not  need  Him  for  ourselves,  or  did  not 
need  Him  so  much.  But  we  must  feel  that  in  this  we  all 
stand  on  one  level,  that  we  all  need  one  cure.  Do  we  not 
all  require  to  go  back  to  Christ  to  learn  more  from  Him, 
to  be  again  forgiven,  to  receive  grace  upon  grace  ]  And 
can  we  go  better  than  in  the  company  of  one  whom  we 
lead  for  the  first  time  to  that  Saviour  whom  we  need 
every  day  and  every  hour  1  Let  us  think  of  this,  and  it 
will  give  us  something  of  the  spirit  of  this  first  home 
mission. 

6.  The  last  thing  we  would  say  is,  Look  at  the  success  of 
this  first  home  mission.  Andrew  gained  his  brother. 
Simon  yielded  and  went,  and  the  first  interview  must  have 
gladdened  Andrew's  heart.  When  Jesus  beheld  him  He 
said :  "  Thou  art  Simon  the  son  of  Jona  :  thou  shalt  be  called 
Cephas,  which  is,  by  interpretation,  A  stone."  We  cannot 
now  tell  all  that  Peter  did ;  how  his  boldness  and  open 
confession  of  Christ  confirmed  the  hearts  of  Andrew  and 
his  fellow-disciples  ;  how,  though  he  fell,  he  received  this 
charge  :  "  Strengthen  thy  brethren  ;  "  how  thousands  were 
converted  in  a  day  by  his  preaching;  and  how,  in  the 
epistles  he  has  left,  he  has  been  made  such  an  instrument 
for  comforting  and  building  up  the  people  of  God  in  all 
ages.     We   hear  very  little    afterwards    of  Andrew;  no 


112  THE  FIRST  HOME  MISSION. 

doubt  he  continued  to  work  in  the  spirit  of  his  first 
mission  effort,  and,  no  doubt  also,  he  had  his  continued 
success ;  yet  he  had  not  the  ability  and  energy  of  Peter, 
and  he  retires  into  the  shade.  But  we  cannot  forget  that 
it  is  to  Andrew  we  owe  Simon  Peter,  and  all  that  he 
did. 

Often  afterwards,  we  may  well  believe,  when  Andrew 
saw  Peter's  character  unfolding,  when  he  beheld  him 
opening  the  door  of  faith  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  and 
standing  forth  as  one  of  the  pillars  of  the  Christian  Church, 
he  must  have  thanked  Christ  that  He  not  only  touched  his 
own  heart,  but  put  it  into  his  heart  to  bring  his  brother. 
And  now  in  heaven,  where  they  see  the  full  result,  these 
two  brothers  must  admire  the  wisdom  and  grace  of  God 
which  has  brought  out  such  fruits  from  the  seed  planted 
by  the  hand  of  the  first  home  missionary  of  the  Christian 
Church.  Let  us  take  this,  then,  for  a  great  encouragement 
to  do  our  part,  whatever  it  may  be ;  to  begin  and  do  it  now, 
and  to  do  it  with  all  our  might.  Perhaps  we  may  see  fruit 
from  it,  and  much  fruit,  even  here.  In  any  case,  if  our 
work  be  sincere  and  loving  and  prayerful,  if  we  go  out  from 
Christ  to  men  that  we  may  bring  men  to  Christ,  the  work 
will  not  be  in  vain.  We  may  touch  one  who  will  touch 
many  more.  A  humble  soldier  may  draw  in  some  young 
recruit  who  may  become  a  leader  among  thousands  and 
subdue  kingdoms.  In  the  great  day  of  account,  those  who 
sow  and  those  who  reap  shall  rejoice  together,  and  an 
obscure  hand  may  find  itself  connected  with  the  fruit  that 
shakes  like  Lebanon.  God  has  a  place  for  the  dust  of  his 
people,  and  a  day  of  resurrection  for  it,  but  He  has  a  place 
also  for  their  efforts  and  their  prayers,  and  these  too  shall  be 
remembered  and  raised  with  all  their  results.  Wherefore, 
"  in  the  morning  sow  thy  seed,  and  in  the  evening  with- 
hold not  thine  hand,  for  thou  knowest  not  whether  shall 


THE  FIKST  HOME  MISSION.  113 

prosper,  either  this  or  that,  or  whether  they  both  shall  be 
alike  good." 

There  is  one  remark  that  may  be  needed  to  help  any  good 
resolve  to  an  issue,  and  it  is  this — that  if  the  work  is  to 
be  well  and  perseveringly  done,  there  should  be  com- 
mon counsel  and  co-operation.  Many  good  resolutions  are 
made  by  Christian  people  that  they  will  do  more  by  per- 
sonal effort  for  the  cause  of  Christ  j  but  they  are  afraid  to 
commit  themselves,  and  the  effort  is  either  never  begun, 
or  it  dies  away  after  a  few  endeavours.  Now,  it  is  certain 
that  we  should  be,  each  one  alone  and  personally,  doing 
our  part  in  our  daily  life,  shining  as  lights  in  the  world  j 
but  to  form  ourselves  into  union  for  special  efforts  is 
also  needed  for  our  mutual  quickening  and  guidance.  It 
will  give  us  courage,  it  will  pledge  us  to  perseverance,  and 
it  will  put  purpose  into  all  the  rest  of  our  conduct. 

Andrew,  indeed,  went  alone  with  the  first  instinct  of  the 
Christian  life — he  could  do  nothing  else  ;  but,  when  he 
was  joined  by  others,  co-operation  at  once  commenced. 
Our  Lord  sent  them  out  two  and  two,  and  brought  them 
together  again  to  speak  and  hear  about  their  work.  Even 
in  a  Christian  church  such  arrangements  are  needed,  if 
work  is  to  be  done  with  order  and  efficiency.  If  some 
diffident  young  Christian,  wishful  to  work  but  not  know- 
ing how,  were  to  ask— What  am  I  to  do?  I  should  say, 
Join  such  a  union,  the  one  which  you  feel  is  most  suited  to 
your  power  and  opportunity.  A  Christian  church  ought 
to  be  able  to  give  every  one  his  and  her  place,  for,  when  the 
Master  of  the  household  left,  He  appointed  to  every  one 
his  work,  and  commanded  the  porter  to  watch — Occupy 
till  I  come. 

But  there  is  one  last  difficulty.  Some  one  is  saying, 
I  think  I  could  go  to  my  brother  if  I  were  sure  that 
I   had  been   at  Christ  for  myself.      I  have  been  at  his 

H 


114  THE  FIKST  HOME  MISSION. 

house,  but  I  do  not  know  that  I  have  closed  with  his 
offer  in  my  own  heart.  And  what  then  am  I  to  do 
to  work  the  works  of  God  ?  What  answer  can  we  give 
but  that  of  Christ  himself  ?— "  This  is  the  work  of  God, 
that  ye  believe  in  Him  whom  He  hath  sent."  Christ 
himself  is  at  the  door  of  your  house  this  day.  He  has 
often  been  there  before,  and  He  comes  now,  earnest  as 
ever :  "  Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock  j  if  any  man 
open  I  will  come  in."  Will  you  not  open  the  door  1  Will 
you  not  even  ask  Him  to  help  you  to  put  to  hand  and  let 
Him  enter  1  "  Come  in,  Thou  blessed,  wherefore  standest 
Thou  without  1 "  He  is  waiting — do  not  keep  Him  wait- 
ing— do  not  send  Him  away  with  "  At  a  more  conve- 
nient season  I  will  call  for  Thee."  Give  Him  the  heart, 
and  then  it  will  help  you  to  realise  the  decision,  if  you  go 
to  your  brother  with  a  message  of  good.  To  take  the  side 
of  Christ  and  help  his  cause  is  to  help  yourself,  and 
thereby  "  thou  shalt  both  save  thyself  and  them  that  hear 
thee." 


VIII. 

SPIRITUAL  JUDGMENT  ;   ITS  RANGE,  INDEPENDENCE; 
AND  GUIDANCE. 

"  But  he  that  is  spiritual  judgeth  all  things,  yet  he  himself  is  judged 
of  no  man." — 1  Cor.  ii.  15. 

This  declaration  looks  at  first  sight  a  very  startling  one, 
and  has  been  charged  with  having  the  essence  of  fanaticism 
and  self-will.  The  spiritual  man  an  infallible  judge  of 
everything,  and  he  amenable  to  none  !  In  what  way  can 
ordinary  human  beings  meet  such  a  claim  save  by  passing 
it  by  without  answer  1  He  above  us  in  everything,  and  we 
able  to  approach  him  in  nothing  !  But  before  condemn- 
ing the  declaration  so  summarily  we  should  examine  it,  and 
before  examining  it  we  must  ask  who  the  spiritual  man  is. 
The  apostle  Paul  does  not  use  the  name  with  any  kind  of 
supercilious  pride,  but  simply  in  the  way  of  explaining  a 
certain  state  of  things.  In  his  view  the  Gospel  of  Christ 
meets  with  two  kinds  of  men.  There  are  those  who 
approach  it  with  their  natural  reason,  and  who  ask  no 
other  help,  because  they  believe  no  other  help  is  needed. 
To  these  men  the  Gospel  in  its  essence  is  foolishness,  as 
far  as  they  can  understand  it.  There  are  things  about  it, 
its  precepts,  the  life  of  its  Founder,  its  elevated  and  ideal 
tone,  which  many  of  them  admit  to  be  very  beautiful  and, 
to  some  extent,  very  useful ;  but  what  is  called  the  essen- 
tial Gospel,  that  sin  is  so  terrible  an  evil  that  it  needed  the 
cure  which  the  Bible  describes,  that  God's  nature  should 
be  moved,  that  He  should  send  his  Son  into  the  world  to 

115 


116  SPIRITUAL  JUDGMENT  :   ITS  EANGE, 

suffer  and  die,  that  this  miracle  of  miracles,  of  which  all 
the  others  are  only  sparks  leaping  from  a  central  fire, 
should  break  up  through  the  surface  order  of  nature,  and 
begin  a  new  and  supernatural  state  of  things,  appears  to 
them  irrational  and  extravagant.  This  is  what  the  apostle 
means  by  "  The  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of 
the  Spirit  of  God  :  for  they  are  foolishness  unto  him." 
But  there  are  men  who  form  their  judgment  in  another 
way,  called  the  spiritual.  They  get  this  name  not  because 
they  judge  from  a  deeper  part  of  human  nature — the  spirit. 
It  is  quite  true  that  there  is  such  a  deeper  part,  and  that 
it  enters  into  their  view  of  things;  but  it  would  never  be 
used  by  them,  and  it  would  never  be  able  to  guide  them 
truly,  but  for  the  Spirit  of  God.  It  is  not  the  spirit  of 
man  which  rises  up  by  some  native  strength,  and  forces  its 
way  to  God  and  the  spiritual  world ;  it  is  God's  Holy  Spirit 
which  reaches  forth  to  man,  renews,  enlightens,  guides  his 
spirit  to  see  and  realise  things  which  otherwise  would  have 
been  to  him  unreal  and  unintelligible.  That  this  is  the 
view  of  the  apostle  in  this  chapter  can  scarcely,  we  think, 
be  denied  by  any  one  who  reads  it  in  its  plain  meaning. 
We  may  agree  with  him  or  not,  but  we  can  scarcely  mis- 
understand him.  The  man  who  comes  under  the  quick- 
ening life  and  teaching  of  God's  Holy  Spirit,  and  who  enters 
into  the  world  of  truth  and  feeling  and  action  disclosed 
by  Him,  is  called  "  the  spiritual  man."  We  are  now  pre- 
pared for  considering  what  is  here  said  about  his  manner 
of  judgment. 

I.  Consider,  first,  its  Range.  —  "  He  that  is  spiritual 
judgeth  all  things."  The  claim  that  is  put  in  is  for  univer- 
sality ;  but  to  see  what  this  universality  refers  to,  we  must 
weigh  the  words  and  their  accompaniment.  It  is  not  said 
that  he  judges  all  men,  or  any  man  ;  he  has  his  opinion  as 


INDEPENDENCE,  AND  GUIDANCE.         117 

to  their  views,  but  in  regard  to  their  persons,  "  to  their  own 
Master  they  stand  or  fall."  God  alone  can  judge  their  history 
and  surroundings,  their  opportunities  and  temptations,  and 
we  have  no  right  to  say  where  they  shall  stand  in  the  great 
day  of  decision.  A  Christian  man,  if  he  is  earnest,  cannot 
help  exposing  what  he  believes  to  be  false,  and  impressing 
what  he  feels  to  be  true ;  he  could  not  love  his  neighbour 
as  himself  if  he  did  not  do  this  ;  but  God  is  the  only  judge 
of  the  heart  and  of  the  final  award,  and  the  more  deeply 
spiritual  a  man  is  the  more  he  will  act  on  the  Lord's 
precept — "  Judge  not,  that  ye  be  not  judged." 

Spiritual  judgment,  then,  has  to  do  not  with  persons, 
but  with  things.  Still,  it  may  be  asked,  Does  it  absolutely 
judge  all  things  %  It  is  clear  that  there  are  many  things 
in  which  spiritual  judgment  will  give  us  no  help.  It 
will  not  make  a  man  acquainted  with  the  truths  of 
astronomy  or  geology,  or  the  facts  of  history,  or  any  of 
the  great  branches  of  secular  knowledge  which  occupy  the 
human  mind.  It  will  not  of  itself  enable  him  to  conduct 
successfully  the  business  of  the  world.  Many  a  great 
statesman  and  prosperous  merchant  has  had  very  little 
spiritual  judgment.  "  The  children  of  this  world  are  in 
their  generation  wiser  than  the  children  of  light."  It  will 
not  make  a  man  a  skilful  critic  of  the  canon  of  Scripture, 
of  the  time  and  circumstances  in  which  the  books  were 
written ;  nor  will  it,  by  its  own  law,  fashion  a  man 
into  a  profound  theologian  acquainted  with  all  the  intri- 
cacies of  doctrine.  The  spiritual  judgment  certainly  has 
its  value  in  these  matters,  but,  without  a  great  deal  of  know- 
ledge outside  itself,  it  cannot  judge  them.  What  meaning 
then  are  we  to  attach  to  these  words,  "  The  spiritual  man 
judgeth  all  things  "  1  The  apostle  speaks  of  those  things 
which  come  within  the  sphere  of,  or  which  touch,  the 
spiritual  nature.     The  Spirit  of  God  reveals  to  the  soul  a 


118  SPIRITUAL  JUDGMENT  :   ITS  RANGE, 

world  of  which  we  can  say  that  it  lies  both  within  the 
present  and  outside  it.  It  is  in  a  hidden  chamber  whose 
existence  we  dimly  felt,  but  which  God's  Spirit  makes 
known  to  us ;  and  this  chamber  has  in  it  a  window  which 
looks  out  on  a  new  and  infinite  universe.  The  Spirit  of 
God  not  only  reveals  it,  but  introduces  to  it,  and  gives  the 
possession  of  things  in  it  which  are  felt  to  be  the  very 
truth  and  reality  of  our  soul's  life.  We  do  not  know  our- 
selves for  what  we  really  are,  our  depth  and  height,  our 
wants  and  wishes,  our  fall  and  possible  rise,  our  sin  and 
what  is  meant  by  salvation,  until  we  are  taken  in  there, 
spoken  to  in  our  most  secret  thoughts  by  Him  who  makes 
us  feel  that  He  is  greater  than  our  hearts  and  knows  all 
things  ;  and  makes  us  feel  also  that  He  has  in  his  hand 
the  very  things  which  our  heart  needs,  though  it  could  not 
have  expressed  its  need.  This  world  may  seem  to  those 
who  have  not  been  in  it  a  narrow  and  poor  and  almost 
non-existent  thing — existent,  perhaps,  in  some  curious  un- 
explainable  craving  of  our  nature — nothing  more.  But 
to  those  who  have  been  in  it  and  lived  in  it,  it  grows  in 
certainty  as  its  life  grows,  and  it  deepens  and  expands 
and  rises,  until  it  penetrates  and  comprehends  the  natural 
world  on  every  side.  Wherever  the  natural  world  touches 
it,  it  can  form  its  judgment  of  its  facts  and  of  the  meaning 
they  will  bear.  If  an  attempt  is  made  to  persuade  it  that 
the  soul  is  a  mere  expression,  a  kind  of  shifting  focus  from 
a  play  of  light  in  a  world  of  appearances,  it  can  certainly 
judge.  "  I  know  that  there  is  a  spirit  in  man,  not  only 
from  its  first  creation  in  its  intelligent  and  moral  structure, 
but  from  its  new  creation,  from  the  assurance  of  its  divine 
instincts  and  powers  and  aims.  '  The  inspiration  of  the 
Almighty  has  given  me  this  understanding.'"  If  the 
natural  world  should  grow  in  the  hands  of  some  men  into 
materialism,  and  deny  the  existence  of  a  personal  God,  the 


INDEPENDENCE,  AND  GUIDANCE.  119 

spiritual  man  can  judge.  He  can  say,  '  I  can  not  only  feel 
Him  in  that  sense  of  dependence,  in  that  impression  of 
responsibility  with  which  He  has  created  the  soul,  but 
I  know  Him  as  the  Father  of  spirits,  who  has  drawn 
me  to  Himself  with  an  irresistible  longing,  whom  I 
have  learned  in  some  measure  to  love,  and  in  loving 
have  learned  to  see.'  If  there  be  an  attack  made  by 
secular  history  on  the  person  of  Christ,  to  reduce  Him 
from  the  place  He  holds  in  the  Gospel  to  some  human 
level  or  shadowy  fancy,  the  spiritual  man  can  say  with 
the  woman  of  Samaria,  "  Come,  see  a  man  which  told 
me  all  things  that  ever  I  did  :  is  not  this  the  Christ  % " 
or,  still  more  with  the  Samaritans,  "  Now  we  believe,  not 
because  of  thy  saying  :  for  we  have  heard  Him  ourselves, 
and  know  that  this  is  indeed  the  Christ,  the  Saviour  of 
the  world."  '  We  have  learned  through  Him,  not  only  to 
know  ourselves,  but  to  belong  to  ourselves,  because  we  be- 
long to  Him ;  we  have  learned  what  sin  is,  but  also  what 
peace  is ;  we  have  come  to  know  not  only  the  misery  and 
loathsomeness  of  a  corrupted  nature,  but  also  the  joy  and 
beauty  of  purity  and  love;  and  if  we  have  yet  taken  in  only 
a  few  of  "  the  things  that  are  freely  offered  us  of  God," 
they  are  so  real  and  satisfying  to  our  inmost  nature  that 
we  are  sure  they  must  have  a  real  source.'  Or  if  there  be 
an  attempt  made  to  interpose  the  laws  of  the  natural 
world  between  the  soul  and  God,  so  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
cannot  come  down  with  heavenly  blessings,  or  carry 
prayer  up  to  the  heart  of  God,  the  spiritual  man  can  judge 
the  case.  He  can  say,  '  But  I  know  that  prayer  does 
reach  God,  as  surely  as  I  know  when  a  plumb-line  rests  on 
the  bottom.  I  have  tried  it  again  and  again  ;  it  has  done 
more  than  rest,  it  has  become  an  anchor;  it  has  held 
me  in  duty  and  temptation  and  storm  and  night,  and 
brought   into    my  heart    confidence    and    hope  and  joy. 


120  SPIRITUAL  JUDGMENT  :   ITS  RANGE, 

These  things  did  not  come  from  my  own  soul,  it  is  too 
weak  and  empty ;  they  did  not  come  from  this  natural 
world  which  is  interposing  its  cloud ;  they  came  from 
above,  from  the  Father  of  lights.'  It  is  in  this  way  that 
the  man  who  has  entered  the  spiritual  world  can  judge 
all  things  that  touch  it.  But  he  can  do  more ;  he  can 
judge  all  things  in  the  natural  world  itself,  not  as  to  their 
details,  but  as  to  their  spirit  and  tendency.  The  great 
and  manifold  facts  and  laws  of  nature  may  be,  to  a  large 
extent,  beyond  his  reach ;  but  as  far  as  he  knows  them 
he  perceives  the  eternal  power  and  godhead  of  their 
Maker.  He  can  judge  of  the  infinite  whole.  The  learned 
treatment  of  the  Bible  may  not  be  within  his  grasp,  its 
canon,  its  history,  its  difficulties  and  solutions;  but  the 
broad  highway  of  its  truth,  moving  on  from  beginning  to 
end,  this  he  knows  well,  and  he  finds  it  conducting  to 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  While  he  holds  this,  his  judg- 
ment of  the  Bible  is  sure.  He  may  not  be  able  to  answer 
the  objections  to  God's  providence  and  to  prayer,  but 
when  he  has  found  a  living  God,  and  access  to  Him,  a 
Father  and  a  Friend  to  whom  he  can  speak  and  listen,  he 
can  meanwhile  pass  by  the  objections,  or  through  them, 
and  reach  the  conviction  of  a  world  where  the  laws  are 
not  dead  but  living,  and  do  not  separate  us  from  God 
but  conduct  us  to  Him.  The  judgment,  then,  which  the 
spiritual  man  forms  is  founded  on  the  new  life  which 
the  Spirit  of  God  creates  in  him,  and  which  becomes  to 
him  as  real  as  any  other  part  of  his  being  ;  which  becomes 
indeed  more  and  more  true,  for  it  supplies  him  with  the 
only  sufficient  key  to  his  own  nature  or  to  God's  universe. 
The  spiritual  life  in  him  becomes  a  test  by  which  to  try 
the  truth  of  things,  a  compass  by  which  to  steer  through 
them,  a  balance  with  which  to  weigh  them.  It  is  not 
infallible — far    from    it,    but    he    knows    that    wherever 


INDEPENDENCE,  AND  GUIDANCE.        121 

he  truly  yields  to  it,  it  leads  him  in  the  true  direc- 
tion ;  it  has  its  deficiencies,  its  chasms  as  it  were,  but 
he  feels  that  whenever  he  is  standing  on  even  one 
part  of  it  he  is  on  sure  ground;  it  has  its  intervals 
of  weakness  and  strength,  we  might  say  of  loss  and 
recovery,  but  he  is  assured  that  if  his  heart  follows  it,  it 
will  reappear  with  a  fuller  conviction,  like  the  star  which 
was  leading  to  Christ,  and  rested  over  Him ;  and  when 
they  saw  it  again,  "  they  rejoiced  with  great  joy." 

II.  We  come  now  to  consider  the  spiritual  man's  judg- 
ment in  its  Independence — "  he  himself  is  judged  of  no  man," 
or  "  of  no  one."  It  is  clear,  again,  that  we  are  not  to  take 
these  words  without  explaining  them  by  the  subject  of 
which  the  apostle  is  speaking.  It  does  not  mean  that 
the  spiritual  man  is  beyond  the  judgment  of  others  when 
he  has  contravened  human  law.  He  puts  himself  before 
man's  tribunal  to  answer  to  it,  and,  if  condemned,  submits 
to  the  penalty,  within  all  the  range  of  civil  authority  to 
which  the  law  of  man  extends.  Nor  is  he  exempt  from 
judgment  in  his  spiritual  life.  He  can  never  be  freed 
from  the  judgment  of  God  as  expressed  by  his  Word  and 
by  his  Spirit,  for  this  is  at  the  very  basis  of  his  Christian 
life  and  of  all  that  belongs  to  it.  And  he  is  not  entirely 
free,  in  spiritual  things,  from  the  judgment  of  his  fellow- 
Christians.  They  can  never  judge  him  m  the  sense  of 
depriving  him  of  his  responsibility  to  God,  and  of  forming 
his  own  faith  and  character  in  view  of  this-  "  Every  one 
of  us  shall  give  account  of  himself  to  God."  But  his 
fellow-Christians  may  have  it  in  their  power  to  instruct 
and  correct  his  judgment,  as  he  on  his  part  can  do  the 
like  for  them.  They  are  in  the  same  domain  of  life,  and 
can  be  mutually  helpful  by  counsel  and  friendly  admo- 
nition.      And    we   may  say,   moreover,   that   the    apostle 


122  SPIRITUAL  JUDGMENT  :   ITS  RANGE, 

is  not  speaking  of  the  judgment  which  men  of  the  world 
may  form  of  the  outward  character  and  deportment  of 
Christians.  Any  man  of  the  world  can  judge  a  Christian 
man's  conduct,  so  far  as  it  comes  before  the  outward  eye  ; 
he  can  approve  it  or  he  can  condemn  it,  and  he  has  a 
right  to  do  so.  The  ordinary  man  of  the  world  is  a  judge 
of  the  consistency  of  Christians,  and  we  should  be  very 
glad  oftentimes  that  we  have  this  mirror  in  which  to  study 
ourselves.  Not  unfrequently  it  may  distort  Christian 
conduct,  and  discolour  it,  but  at  ether  times  it  may  give 
very  wholesome  criticism  which  it  would  be  foolish  in 
Christians  to  disregard.  We  might  be  ready  to  fall  into 
much  one-sidedness  and  many  extravagances  if  we  had 
not  some  such  judgments.  We  ought  to  have  courage  to  act 
against  all  human  criticism  when  conscience  commands ; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  we  may  be  unwise  if  we  do  not 
take  it  into  account  for  correction  and  instruction  in  our 
way  of  acting.  We  are  to  walk  in  wisdom  toward  them 
that  are  without :  as  far  as  we  can,  "  not  to  let  our 
good  be  evil  spoken  of."  What,  then,  is  the  meaning 
of  saying  that  "  he  is  judged  of  no  man  "  ?  The  apostle, 
you  will  see,  is  speaking  of  an  inward,  spiritual  region  into 
which  the  Christian  man  has  been  introduced  by  God's 
Spirit,  and  of  the  judgments  which  natural  men,  that  is, 
men  who  have  had  no  experience  of  it,  may  form  of  it, 
and  of  him  as  he  lives  in  it.  A  Christian  man  can  say, 
'  My  conduct  before  my  fellow-men  belongs  to  the  world ; 
my  heart  is  for  the  Searcher  of  hearts  ;  my  inward,  spiritual 
experiences  are  for  fellow-Christians  who  have  felt  them ; 
but  this  inner  world  is  not  open  to  the  decisions  of  those 
who  have  never  dwelt  in  it,  or  even  visited  it ;  they  are 
not  acquainted  with  its  motives,  its  laws,  its  sorrows,  its 
hopes,  its  joys  ;  I  cannot  be  judged  by  any  one  of  them.' 
Perhaps  the  best  way  of  illustrating  this  is  to  take  the 


INDEPENDENCE,  AND  GUIDANCE.         123 

apostle  Paul  himself,  and  see  how  he  had  a  whole  world 
within  him  removed  from  the  judgment  of  natural  men 
around.  Take,  at  the  very  first,  the  great  truth  of  salva- 
tion by  grace  without  the  works  of  the  law,  which  was 
the  pivot  of  his  preaching  and  of  his  life.  It  was  looked 
on  by  many  then  and  since  as  an  immoral  doctrine  which, 
if  followed  out,  would  lead  to  all  manner  of  sin.  But 
they  could  not  understand  that  in  receiving  this  free  grace 
there  is  a  new  nature  received,  the  motions  of  which  are 
always  saying,  "  How  shall  we,  that  are  dead  to  sin,  live 
any  longer  therein'?"  Neither  could  he  be  judged  as  to  the 
way  his  new  life  was  supported.  Men  saw  the  persecu- 
tions to  which  he  was  exposed — wave  upon  wave  of  afflic- 
tion, unappreciated  labour,  unreturned  sacrifice,  stripes, 
imprisonment — these  were  not  so  much;  but  calumny, 
disappointment,  heart-sickness,  and  depression  came  over 
him,  and  he  had  to  say  of  himself,  "  Without  were  fight- 
ings, within  were  fears."  The  world  could  not  understand 
how  the  spirit  in  him  was  sustained,  and  rose  up  in  fresh 
flames  of  consuming  zeal.  John  Bunyan  has  given  the 
explanation  of  it.  In  the  Interpreter's  house  Christian 
was  shown  a  fire  burning  against  a  wall,  and  one  standing 
by  it  always  casting  much  water  upon  it,  to  quench  it ; 
yet  did  the  fire  burn  higher  and  hotter.  And  when  he 
wondered,  he  was  taken  to  the  other  side  of  the  wall, 
"  where  there  was  a  man  with  a  vessel  of  oil  in  his  hand, 
of  which  he  continually  cast,  but  secretly,  into  the  fire. 
This  was  the  oil  of  Christ's  grace  which  maintains  the 
work  begun  in  the  heart."  Or,  take  the  happiness  of  his 
life,  and  ask  if  the  mere  natural  man  could  understand 
it.  Let  us  only  think  of  this  chain  which  begins  with 
hope  and  ends  with  it,  like  two  golden  nails  fixed  to  the 
gate  of  heaven,  while  the  links  hang  down  into  all 
the  trials  of  life,  which  are  touched  and  turned  to  gold 


124  SPIRITUAL  JUDGMENT  :   ITS  RANGE, 

by  their  divine  fastenings.  "We  rejoice  in  hope  of 
the  glory  of  God.  And  not  only  so,  but  we  glory  in 
tribulations  also :  knowing  that  tribulation  worketh 
patience  ;  and  patience,  experience  ;  and  experience,  hope ; 
and  hope  maketh  not  ashamed  ;  because  the  love  of  God 
is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost  which  is 
given  unto  us."  Could  the  world  judge  of  the  weight 
which  his  heart  put  into  the  scale,  that  weighed  all  else 
down — "  What  things  were  gain  to  me,  those  I  counted 
loss  for  Christ ;"  or  of  the  deep  assurance  of  reality  which 
enabled  him  to  say  clearly  and  calmly,  "I  am  not  mad, 
most  noble  Festus,  but  speak  forth  the  words  of  truth  and 
soberness"?  Here  was  a  man  moving  among  men,  but  a 
mystery  to  them,  knowing  them  well,  for  he  had  an 
intensely  human  heart  and  he  had  tried  many  of  its 
ambitions  and  delights,  but  with  a  world  within  him 
which  the  world  of  natural  men  could  not  comprehend ; 
and  so  he  says,  not  in  pride  or  bitterness,  but  in  simple 
truthfulness  and  strong  desire  that  they  should  share  it 
with  him, '  I  know  the  world  you  live  in,  I  have  been  in  it, 
and  am  in  it  now ;  but  you  cannot  know  mine  until  you 
enter  it ;  the  spiritual  man  judgeth  all  things  ;  he  himself 
is  judged  of  none.'  Now,  this  was  not  peculiar  to  the 
apostle  Paul.  He  had  it  from  a  greater,  from  Him  who 
"  was  in  the  world,  and  the  world  was  made  by  Him,  and 
the  world  knew  Him  not " — who  had  a  universe  of 
spiritual  possessions  within  Him,  among  which  He  lived, 
and  for  the  bestowal  of  which  on  men  He  freely  died ; 
and  then,  to  as  many  as  received  Him  He  gave  power 
to  become  the  sons  of  God.  The  humblest  Christian, 
who  can  take  this  name,  or  who  has  entered  in  but  a 
little  way  within  the  door,  has  begun  this  experience 
which  is  more  to  the  understanding  of  the  life  of  Christ 
and  to  the   conviction  of  its  truth,   than  all   the  com- 


INDEPENDENCE,  AND  GUIDANCE.  125 

mentaries  and  histories  that  have  been  written  by  the 
most  learned  men.     These  have  their  value,  but  what  is 
the  telescope  without  the  eye  1     The  experience  of  most 
Christian  men  will  fall  very  far  short  of  that  of  the  apostle 
Paul,  but  it  is  the  same  in  kind.     It  may  be  little  more 
than  the  sense  of  comfort  which  arises  from  thinking  of 
Christ  as  a  Saviour,  and  the  earnest  endeavour  to  commit 
all  to  Him,  the  strength  that  comes  in  duty  or  temptation 
from  the  attempt  to  realise  his  presence  as  a  helper,  the 
gladness  which  springs  up  in  the  soul  at  the  hope  of  his 
approval;    but,   though   it  be   even  less  than  this,  and 
though  hesitation  and  fear  accompany  it,  there  will  be  the 
deep  sense  of   reality  in  the  blessing  desired,  and  the 
turning  of  the  heart  to  this  side  as  the  one  secure  and 
satisfying   thing — "One   thing    have   I    desired   of    the 
Lord  ;    that  will  I  seek  after."     If  a  man  has  got  this 
length,  it  is  a  foothold  in  the  land  of  promise,  by  which 
he  can  distinguish    it  from   the    shifting  sand   through 
which  he  has  hitherto  travelled ;    and  by  God's  grace  he 
can  keep  his  own  against  hostile  judgments,  and  entrench 
himself  till  he  gains  more.     If  he  will  only  be  true  to  the 
teaching  of  God's  Holy  Spirit,  which  has  begun  to  enlighten 
him,  he  will  have  a  growing  experience  of  life  within,  which 
shall  give  him  an  answer  to  all  objectors.    He  has  a  right 
to  set  this  inner  world,  in  which  his  spirit  is  living  and 
moving,  against  all  the  arguments  which  the  outer  can 
advance.     *  There  is  an  outer  circle  which  you  know,  and 
which  I  know  also,  but  this  inner  realm  is  one  you  have 
no  experience  of.     It  has  given  me  a  new  understanding 
and  desire  and  aim,  which  enable  me  to  judge  the  world 
as  I  could  not  do  before.     They  are  still  very  imperfect, 
but  they  are  very  real,  and  they  give  me  the  inborn  hope 
of  higher  things.     You  cannot  judge  me  till  you  know  the 
world  in  which  I  have  begun  to  live,  and,  when  you  do,  I 


126  SPIRITUAL  JUDGMENT  :   ITS  RANGE, 

believe  you  will  judge  with  me.'  This  is  the  basis  on 
which  any  Christian  man  may  be  able  to  feel  that  he  is 
secure  in  his  faith — "  it  stands  not  in  the  wisdom  of  men, 
but  in  the  power  of  God."  The  men  who  oppose  it  may 
be  men  of  vast  learning  and  high  genius,  but  there  is  one 
little  reason  which  replies  to  all,  '  I  was  blind,  now  I  see ; 
my  soul  was  dead,  now  it  begins  to  live.'  Let  us  join  the 
Lord  Jesus  in  thanking  the  Father  for  this  foundation, 
safe  against  all  adversaries,  open  to  all  friends.  "  What 
shall  one  then  answer  the  messengers  of  the  nation  ? 
That  the  Lord  hath  founded  Zion,  and  the  poor  of  his 
people  shall  trust  in  it." 

III.  It  now  remains  for  us  to  speak  briefly  of  the 
Guidance  and  Tests  of  spiritual  judgment.  This  part  of 
the  subject  is  not  referred  to  directly  in  the  text,  but  it  is 
implied  in  all  that  precedes  it,  and,  unless  something  were 
said  regarding  it,  we  might  feel  as  if  the  judgment  of  a 
Christian  man  on  spiritual  things  were  in  danger  of  per- 
sonal caprice.  It  may  be  asked,  '  Does  not  the  apostle's 
view  of  the  independence  of  Christian  experience  make 
it  doubtful  and  unsafe  1  Is  it  not  left  with  a  rule 
without  satisfactory  tests,  and  cut  off  from  contact  with 
the  world  of  common  humanity,  so  as  to  deprive  it  of 
proper  influence  1  Can  anything  be  true  and  powerful 
which  is  thus  isolated  from  all  its  environments  1 '  Let  us, 
then,  without  entering  fully  into  the  subject,  indicate  how 
the  spiritual  judgment  of  a  Christian  can  both  guard  and 
guide  itself  by  seeking  contact  with  the  things  around  it. 
First  of  all,  it  must  never  separate  itself  from  its  source. 
Its  source  is  God's  Spirit  acting  through  God's  Word. 
What  is  true  of  all  Christians  is  true  of  it.  Its  origin  is 
not  natural  but  divine.  It  is  born  not  of  blood  nor  of  the 
will  of  the  flesh  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God — born 


INDEPENDENCE,  AND  GUIDANCE.         127 

of  God  by  his  incorruptible  Word,  "  which  liveth  and 
abideth  for  ever."  The  spiritual  judgment,  if  it  is  to  be 
sound,  can  never  be  cut  off  from  this  fountain-head.  Here 
it  verifies  and  purifies  and  strengthens  itself.  The  old 
song  of  praise  on  God's  Word  is  always  to  be  had  in 
memory,  viz.,  "  The  testimony  of  the  Lord  is  sure,  making 
wise  the  simple ;  the  commandment  of  the  Lord  is  pure, 
enlightening  the  eyes."  But  in  order  to  this  there  are  two 
things  to  be  observed.  We  must  not  form  our  judgment 
on  single  texts,  but  on  the  breadth  of  Scripture — the 
letter  may  kill,  the  spirit  gives  life ;  and  I  know  no  better 
way  of  reaching  the  breadth  of  Scripture  than  by  carry- 
ing it  up  in  its  final  issue  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  All 
its  parts,  rightly  understood,  will  agree  with  Him  ;  but  in 
Christ  himself,  in  his  person  and  character  and  work,  the 
right  of  guidance  for  the  judgment  is  more  clear.  Many 
things  that  are  doubtful  become  simple  when  we  ask, 
What  would  the  example  and  spirit  of  Christ  lead  us  in 
this  case  to  say  and  do  1  The  other  thing  to  which  we 
should  attend,  in  bringing  our  judgment  to  the  Word  of 
God,  is  to  ask  reverently  and  lovingly  the  guidance  of 
the  Spirit  which  gave  the  Word,  and  which  kindled  any 
light  in  us  that  we  may  possess.  To  ask  the  Author  of 
the  book  to  explain  it,  not  with  a  word  or  two  in  opening 
it,  but  with  the  heart  in  the  upward  and  expectant  look, 
is  the  true  way  of  being  guided  aright  (Ps.  xxv.  6). 

After  this  guidance  from  the  Source,  there  is  that  which 
we  may  receive  from  the  new  nature  formed  within,  and 
from  the  growth  of  it  in  obedience  to  God's  will.  It  may 
be  asked  by  some,  '  But  what  if  this  new  nature  is,  in  my 
case,  very  doubtful  and  very  fitful,  if  its  experiences  come 
and  go  till  I  can  scarcely  distinguish  them  from  cloudland  *? 
Can  I  trust  what  is  so  variable  1 '  The  answer  is,  that  if 
a  man  will  think  of  his  inner  life  he  will  find  that  there 


128  SPIRITUAL  JUDGMENT  :    ITS  RANGE, 

are  some  fixed  things  which  remain  amid  the  changing. 
When  a  sailor  is  coasting  the  shore,  the  headlands  and 
clouds  seem  so  mingled  that  he  can  scarcely  tell  what  is 
fixed  from  what  is  fleeting.  But  he  patiently  watches  till 
his  eye  descries  what  remains  constant  amid  mist  and 
shadow.  Frequently  it  is  some  far  peak  inland  which 
steadies  his  view,  till  the  vision  stretches  clown  to  the 
shore,  and  the  dry  land  appears,  hill  and  valley,  field  and 
river,  and  now  he  cannot  doubt  it.  And  if,  besides,  as  in 
the  first  creation,  the  light  should  come  out  and  strike  the 
landscape  here  and  there,  and  there  should  be  finger-points 
of  slanting  sunbeams,  he  comes  then  to  say,  '  Here  is  some- 
thins:  that  can  be  relied  on ' — a  house  or  church  which 
visits  him  with  thoughts  of  something  he  has  known  or 
should  have  known.  He  doubts  no  more.  It  is  in  some 
such  way  that  our  inner  experience  is  to  form  itself  into 
certainties— first  to  separate  shifting  fancies  and  feelings 
from  principles,  and  with  the  confidence  this  brings,  to  let, 
it  may  be,  some  one  principle  stand  out,  some  high  hill 
of  God  far  away, — the  thought  of  God  himself,  of  truth, 
of  duty  as  supreme  and  sure ;  and  then  when  light  at 
some  moment  strikes  these,  light  from  a  higher  source,  to 
ask  ourselves,  When  is  my  mind  clearest,  when  is  my  heart 
purest,  and  life  most  real  1  Is  it  not  when  light  from 
above  comes  in  to  make  things  on  earth  sure  that  are  of 
the  best  and  most  sacred  ?  It  seems  then,  not  so  much  a 
learning  of  the  new,  as  a  re-learning  of  the  old,  a  recovery 
of  our  true  and  proper  self. 

Yet  some  would  say  that,  after  all,  this  experience  is 
single  and  personal,  and  may  be  the  fancy  of  the  indi- 
vidual ;  and  the  Christian  himself  feels  the  need  of  having 
it  verified  and  corrected  by  something  outside.  He  may 
be  sure  of  God's  Word,  but  is  he  always  sure  of  his  under- 
standing and  application  of  itl      For  this,  there  exists  the 


INDEPENDENCE,  AND  GUIDANCE.         129 

guiding  aid  of  those  who  have  come  under  the  teaching 
of  the  same  Spirit.  They  cannot  dictate,  for  the  personal 
conscience,  in  the  sight  of  God,  is  the  last  judge ;  but 
they  can  bear  witness,  and  thus  confirm.  If  any  one 
charge  the  spiritual  experience  with  being  a  fancy,  we 
have  to  think  of  the  great  cloud  of  witnesses  which  com- 
passes it  about.  As  far  as  we  can  go  back  in  time,  we  find 
like  feelings  and  desires  and  aims,  and  as  far  as  we  go  out  in 
space,  among  different  climes  and  colours  and  stages  of 
civilisation,  we  shall  find  that  God  forms  the  hearts  of 
Christians  alike.  No  doubt  there  are  differences  about 
many  ^things,  and  jealousies  creep  in  because  of  them,  but. 
the  love  of  God  and  the  life  of  Christ,  wherever  they  are 
received  into  the  heart,  bring  forth  essentially  the  same 
experiences  and  expressions.  There  is  a  Church  of  the 
living  God  going  through  the  ages  and  through  the  lands, 
with  which  the  spiritual  man  feels  himself  to  be  atone, 
and  the  more  the  inner  spiritual  realm  is  reached,  the 
fuller  is  this  unity  felt  to  be.  May  we  not  with  justice 
appeal  to  it  as  proving  that  the  spiritual  experience  is  not 
an  individual  fancy,  but  a  testimony  from  man's  nature  to 
a  wide  and  permanent  power,  the  power  of  Him  who  has 
not  only  formed  men's  hearts  alike  in  nature,  but  who  by 
his  Spirit  in-forms  their  souls  with  new  and  higher  life  1 

Still  it  may  be  said,  Does  this  not  cut  off  spiritual 
experience  from  the  great  mass  of  humanity,  for  take  the 
Christian  name  as  wide  as  you  will,  it  is  but  a  fraction  of 
the  family  of  man  1  And  it  is  too  true  that  the  spiritual 
experience,  in  the  form  in  which  we  have  been  speaking  of 
it,  has  belonged  to  a  minority  in  every  age,  and  that  it  is 
only  slowly  extending.  But  we  are  not,  therefore,  to 
infer  that  this  experience  is  an  isolated  thing,  separated 
from  man's  nature  by  a  hard,  unsympathetic  wall.  It  has 
its  points  of  contact  from  which  it  draws  evidence  of  its 

I 


130  SPIRITUAL  JUDGMENT  :   ITS  RANGE, 

own  reality,  and  through  which  it  seeks  to  diffuse  itself 
among  those  who  are  not  sharers  of  it.  The  restlessness 
in  the  hearts  of  men,  their  sense  of  want  of  something 
more  than  they  see  and  possess,  their  cry  in  sorrow 
for  comfort  which  the  world  cannot  give,  and  their  shrink- 
ing from  the  blank  future  which  a  hopeless  death  presents, 
what  are  these  but  negative  testimonies  to  the  experi- 
ence which  the  heart,  taught  by  God's  Holy  Spirit,  feels 
it  has  found  1  There  are  ruined  chambers,  there  are 
strange  indifferences,  no  doubt,  deceitful  opiates  which  the 
carnal  nature  takes  to  in  its  diseases  and  despairs,  but  in 
man,  as  man,  there  is  the  want  which  it  is  not  in  earth, 
in  any  of  its  forms,  grosser  or  more  glittering,  to  fill.  Is 
it  unreasonable  to  believe  that  He,  with  whom  is  the 
fountain  of  life,  has  opened  a  spring  for  these  necessities  1 
that  as  we  see  forms  of  existence  each  rising  above  the 
other  till  they  end  in  man;  and  as  in  man  himself  we 
have  experiences  which  widen  until  they  beat  at  last 
against  the  barriers  of  the  finite  in  moans  and  wails  from 
great  depths — is  it  unreasonable  to  believe  that  God  has 
answered  in  some  way  so  as  to  still  and  satisfy  these  cries  1 
It  is  to  bring  men  into  a  new  and  wonderful  world,  and 
can  be  done  only  by  a  wonder.  It  must  be  by  some 
strange  tokens  that  the  heart  of  the  Father  of  mercies 
breaks  through  to  offer  this,  by  a  law,  indeed,  but  by  a 
law  of  love  which  bends  the  lower  laws  to  its  own  will 
and  way.  And  I  know  of  no  other  way  but  that  which 
has  appeared  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  his  opened  heart, 
"  Come  unto  Me."  If  there  are  those,  then,  who  have 
this  lower  experience,  the  experience  of  want  and  heart- 
weariness,  here  is  a  way  open  to  a  higher.  If  you  have 
felt  that  the  heart  knows  its  own  bitterness,  here  there 
is  a  path  to  the  joy  with  which  no  stranger  can  inter- 
meddle.    From  the  secret  grief  of  the  human  experience 


INDEPENDENCE,  AND  GUIDANCE.  131 

you  may  reach  the  secret  gladness  of  the  divine,  and 
for  the  sense  of  gnawing  emptiness  you  may  obtain  the 
hidden  manna.  It  is  true  that  this  can  reach  the  soul 
only  from  God's  own  hand,  and  by  his  Spirit's  power. 
Of  this  bread  from  heaven  the  Saviour  says,  "No  man 
can  come  unto  Me,  except  it  were  given  unto  him  of  my 
Father."  And  yet  it  is  most  certain  that  the  refusal  of  it 
is  the  man's  own  act,  and  that  the  conviction  of  this 
pressed  in  on  the  conscience  will  be  the  sorest  experience 
of  all.  A  man  has  two  ways  before  him,  either  to  face 
this  charge,  Ye  will  not  come  to  Me  that  ye  might  have 
life — or  to  come  to  this  confession,  Thou  hast  the  words 
of  eternal  life ;  and  we  believe  and  are  sure  that  Thou 
art  that  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God. 

If  we  have  reached  this  experience  in  any  degree,  we 
should  seek  to  strengthen  and  extend  it  by  these  means, — 
God's  word  brought  home  by  his  Spirit,  our  own  spirit 
responding  to  it  by  growing  love  and  obedience,  fellow- 
ship with  the  like-minded,  and  communication  of  it  to 
those  who  have  it  not.  We  shall  thus  grow  in  the  know- 
ledge of  the  divine  life,  and  in  the  assurance  of  its  reality. 
It  will  be  increasingly  our  own  by  the  surest  of  seals,  the 
witness  of  the  life  itself;  but  it  will  be  ours  not  to  keep 
but  to  give  away,  and  in  giving  it  to  possess  it  more 
fully.  If  Christians  in  this  age  of  doubt  and  confusion 
are  to  have  real  power,  they  must  go  to  men  with  this 
sure  judgment  of  experience  which  has  proved  all  things 
only  to  hold  fast  to  the  one  good — That  which  we  have 
seen  and  heard  declare  we  unto  you,  that  ye  also  may  have 
fellowship  with  us  :  and  truly  our  fellowship  is  with  the 
Father,  and  with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ. 


IX. 

HADAD    THE    EDOMITE. 

(LOVE  OF  COUNTRY.) 

"  'i  hen  Pharaoh  said  unto  him,  But  what  hast  thou 
lacked  with  me,  that,  behold,  thou  seehest  to  go  to  thine  own 
country  ?  And  he  answered,  Nothing :  howbeit  let  me  go 
in  any  ivise." — 1  KinOxS  xi.  14-22. 

This  narrative  of  Hadad  comes  in  as  a  short  episode  in 
the  later  days  of  King  Solomon,  when  he  was  being 
punished  for  his  defection.  The  story  has  an  interest  of 
its  own.  Edom  had  been  defeated  many  years  before  by 
David  and  Joab  the  captain  of  his  host  had  returned  to 
complete  the  conquest.  With  his  unsparing  severity  he 
had  slain  every  man  capable  of  bearing  arms,  and  crushed 
the  reigning  family.  Hadad,  who  was  very  young,  and  of 
the  seed-royal,  was  carried  off  by  some  faithful  servants, 
and,  after  wandering  from  place  to  place,  took  refuge  in 
Egypt,  which  was  then  and  afterwards  an  asylum  for 
fugitives.  Here  he  was  hospitably  received,  and  rose  high 
in  favour.  He  had  a  fixed  provision  made  for  him,  land 
given  to  him  and  his  people,  and  in  course  of  time  he 
entered  the  royal  family.  The  sister  of  Pharaoh's  queen 
became  his  wife,  his  son  was  formally  adopted  into  the 
household  among  Pharaoh's  own  children,  and  Hadad 
appeared  bound  to  his  new  home  by  ties  not  to  be  broken. 
But  news  of  important  change  reached  him.  David  was 
dead,  and,  it  is  emphatically  added,  Joab  the  captain  of 
the  host — the  terrible  Joab — was  dead,  and  the  reins  of 
Jewish  rule  were  in  weaker  hands.     The  love  of  his  old 

132 


HADAD  THE  EDOMITE.  133 

home  awoke  in  Hadad's  heart,  and  he  came  to  Pharaoh 
with  the  request  that  he  might  be  allowed  to  leave.  It  is 
evident  that  Hadad  possessed  a  warmth  of  nature  which 
attached  men  to  him,  for  Pharaoh  was  unwilling  to  let  him 
go.  There  is  a  simple  beauty  in  the  brief  conversation, 
which  makes  one  afraid  to  touch  it  by  an  attempt  at  ex- 
pansion, "  But  what  hast  thou  lacked  with  me,  that,  behold, 
thou  seekest  to  go  to  thine  own  country  ]  And  he  an- 
swered, Nothing :  howbeit  let  me  go  in  any  wise."  We 
have  no  intention  to  deal  with  the  narrative  and  its 
bearings  on  Solomon,  or  Israel,  or  the  future  of  Hadad. 
All  this  the  narrative  leaves  in  silence,  and  fixes  our 
thoughts  on  this  one  feature  in  Hadad's  nature,  his  love  of 
country.  We  can  scarcely  doubt  that  it  was  the  love  of 
his  country  that  was  the  ruling  feeling  in  Hadad's  wish  to 
return  to  Edom.  Had  it  been  revenge  or  ambition,  he 
could  have  named  it  to  Pharaoh,  and  he  would  have  been 
understood ;  but  it  is  a  feeling  he  cannot  explain.  It  is 
an  old  Edomite  anticipation  of  the  saying  of  the  Latin 
poet,  "  I  know  not  what  charm  it  is  which  leads  us  captive 
in  the  love  of  native  land ;  it  will  not  let  us  forget," — a 
saying  which  one  of  our  great  philosophers  could  not  help 
quoting  when  he  left  home  to  die  in  a  foreign  country. 
And  it  seems  not  less  clear  that  the  sacred  historian 
wished  to  fix  our  eye  on  this  feature.  We  are  told  of  all 
that  surrounded  Hadad  to  keep  him  in  Egypt — the  royal 
favour,  the  good  of  the  land,  the  ties  of  friendship  and 
family — but  Edom  with  its  rocks  and  scanty  pastures  has 
a  power  that  will  not  let  him  stay.  He  remembers  it 
though  he  had  been  yet  a  little  child,  and  the  old  memories 
come  up  afresh.  He  cannot  put  their  power  into  words,  but 
they  draw  him  back  to  Edom — "  Let  me  go  in  any  wise." 
We  wish,  then,  to  take  this  one  feature — the  love  of 
country — and  look  at  it  as  implanted  in  the  human  heart 


134  HAD  AD  THE  EDOMITE. 

for  a  wise  and  divine  purpose,  passing  beyond  this  simple 
instance,  and  drawing  whatever  light  we  can  from  God's 
providence  and  Word. 

The  first  remark  we  make  is,  that  it  is  a  feeling  not 
only  deep  in  our  nature,  as  we  do  not  need  to  show,  but 
acknowledged  and  approved  in  the  Bible.  This  has  been 
denied,  and  some  have  blamed,  while  others  have  praised, 
the  Book  on  this  account;  but,  whether  it  be  to  its 
blame  or  praise,  the  feeling  is  there.  We  cannot  surely 
fail  to  perceive  that  the  love  of  country  was  employed 
by  God  to  build  up  the  place  He  gave  the  Jewish  people 
in  preserving  his  truth  in  the  long  period  of  darkness, 
before  the  time  came  for  the  Gospel  to  go  out  into  the 
world.  Their  love  was  drawn  to  it  before  they  saw  it  as 
the  land  of  Promise.  Their  lots  were  cast  in  it  as  if  to 
give  them  so  many  separate  roots  in  the  soil.  When  they 
were  banished  from  it,  what  a  plaintive  wail  came  from 
their  harps  in  the  most  touching,  if  not  the  very  first,  of 
exile  songs,  "  By  the  rivers  of  Babylon,  there  we  sat  down, 
yea,  we  wept,  when  we  remembered  Zion  ; "  and  what  a 
joyful  counterpart  we  have  in  another  song,  "  When  the 
Lord  turned  again  the  captivity  of  Zion,  we  were  like 
them  that  dream"!  It  is  quite  true  they  were  sacred 
songs ;  the  love  of  the  temple  was  in  the  love  of  the 
land ;  but  the  natural  beating  of  the  human  heart  to  the 
soil  was  also  there,  and  God  approved  and  used  it.  And, 
scattered  through  the  Old  Testament,  we  have  passages 
ever  and  again  which  acknowledge  this  feeling — the  case 
of  Hadad  here,  the  justice,  if  we  may  so  say,  done  to  the 
heart  of  an  Edomite  in  this  touch  of  nature,  the  patriotic 
pride  of  Naaman  in  the  waters  of  Damascus,  the  admitted 
sacrifice  made  by  Abraham  when  it  was  said  to  him, 
"  Get  thee  out  of  thy  country,  and  from  thy  kindred," 
and  that  dirge  for  the  banished,  old  and  deep,  "  Weep  ye 


HAD  AD  THE  EDOMITE.  135 

not  for  the  dead,  neither  bemoan  him  :  but  weep  sore  for 
him  that  goeth  away :  for  he  shall  return  no  more,  nor 
see  his  native  country."  It  is  said  we  do  not  find  this  in 
the  New  Testament.  But  we  are  to  remember  that  the 
New  Testament  accepts  the  Old,  and  it  accepts  whatever 
is  true  in  man's  nature.  It  comes  to  free  from  onesided- 
ness,  to  enlarge  and  purify,  but  not  destroy,  whatever  is 
human.  I  do  not  know  that  there  is  anywhere  so  intense 
a  patriotic  cry  as  that  of  the  apostle  Paul,  "  I  could  wish 
that  myself  were  accursed  from  Christ,  for  my  brethren, 
my  kinsmen  according  to  the  flesh;"  and  may  we  not 
rightly  think  that  it  had  its  share  in  the  heart  of  the  Son 
of  Man,  when  He  looked  out  on  all  the  world  as  He  wept 
over  lost  Jerusalem,  "  How  often  would  I  have  gathered 
thy  children  together,  and  ye  would  not !"  It  is,  then,  in 
accordance  with  God's  Word,  as  well  as  with  God's  law  in 
our  nature,  that  our  love  should  go  out  to  native  land. 

But  what  purposes  are  served  by  this  1  There  is  one 
which  may  seem  low  enough  to  begin  with,  but  which  has 
its  own  importance.  It  is  one  of  the  ways  by  which  God 
secures  that  the  earth  should  be  inhabited.  There  is  a 
dispersive  force  in  the  world  which  began  long  ago,  and 
which  has  been  going  on  ever  since,  the  spirit  of  adventure 
and  energy  which  seeks  action  and  change;  so  waste 
places  are  peopled  and  tilled.  But  there  is  needed  not 
less  an  adhesive  power  to  maintain  what  is  gained.  The 
world  must  have  an  anchor  as  well  as  a  sail.  Rocky 
Edom  is  dear  as  fertile  Egypt,  and  bleak,  storm-struck 
islands  more  than  southern  Edens,  If  it  were  not  for  this, 
wars  for  sunny  spots  would  be  more  common  than  they 
are,  and  kindreds  and  peoples  could  not  be  gathered  and 
held  together  to  build  up  communities.  But  the  building 
up  of  communities  is  a  part  of  God's  providential  design. 
Each  one  in  its  own  place  brings  out  its  own  character, 


136  II  AD  AD  THE  EDOMITE. 

and,  in  the  end,  may  be  found  to  bring  its  own  contribu- 
tion to  the  interests  of  humanity.  The  wisdom  of  God's 
plan  in  scattering  men  abroad,  and  yet  holding  them  to- 
gether, and  the  part  taken  in  it  by  this  love  of  native 
land,  may  become  more  apparent  as  the  world  goes  on — 
the  love  that  tears  men  from  it  with  pain,  and  draws  them 
to  return — "  Let  me  go  in  any  wise." 

We  may  come  to  a  higher  view  of  this  feeling  when  we 
think  of  its  effect  on  the  individual  man.  This  love  of 
the  native  soil  has  been  one  of  the  great  springs  of  the 
poetry  of  the  race  ;  and,  whatever  we  may  think  of  poetry 
ourselves,  we  cannot  fail  to  see  its  power.  In  the  midst 
of  the  hard  battle  for  material  interests,  and  the  hard  laws 
of  material  things,  men  would  be  poorer  and  more  pitiable 
without  the  fancy  and  imagination,  which  give  them  an 
escape  from  stern  realities  into  the  world  of  possible  or 
probable  or  coming  things,  which  may  have  more  reality 
in  them  than  what  we  see  around  us.  God,  who  gives  the 
bird  wings  for  its  safety  and  delight,  has  given  man  imagi- 
nation It  is  certainly  his  gift,  if  men  would  only  use  it 
for  Him.  And  it  can  be  said  with  truth  that,  apart  from 
the  region  of  the  spirit  itself,  it  is  never  more  pure  and 
purifying  than  when  it  takes  for  its  subject  the  things  of 
native  land  and  home.  In  all  time,  as  far  as  we  can  trace 
it,  and  in  all  countries,  this  has  found  its  way  straight  to 
the  heart,  and  made  men  feel  they  had  imagination  who  did 
not  suspect  it  was  within  them.  The  kindling  of  this  fire, 
the  calling  forth  of  tears  when  far  away,  helps  men  often  to 
things  more  sacred.  Many  a  youth  has  been  led  to  think 
of  a  mother's  love  and  a  father's  prayers  and  a  neglected 
Bible,  when  his  heart  has  been  carried  back  over  hills  and 
seas  to  his  native  land.  And  so  this  feeling,  as  it  affects  the 
individual  man,  carries  us  to  the  thought  of  the  home. 
The  native  land  is  dear,  because  the  home  has  been  there, 


HAD  AD  THE  EDOMITE.  137 

where  the  soul  found  its  way  out  first  into  the  warmest 
affections  which  have  been  made  ready  for  it  by  God  as  a 
welcome,  and  the  thoughts  first  opened  in  their  freshness 
to  the  wonderful  things  God  has  to  show  in  the  sights  and 
sounds  around.  All  the  marvels  of  science  afterwards 
through  telescope  and  microscope  are  less  than  what  meets 
the  child's  look  on  its  first  wanderings  in  its  narrow  round. 
The  affections  and  the  wonders  of  life  grow  out  of  this 
seed-plot.  But  to  have  a  home,  we  need  a  native  land, 
and  to  make  it  a  true  native  land  we  must  have  a  home. 
And  here  the  practical  may  enter  among  things  of  imagina- 
tion and  heart.  Next  to  religion,  the  great  power  for 
helping  men  to  a  better  life  is  to  improve  the  home ;  and 
it  is  certain  that,  without  this,  religion  can  never  fully  per- 
form its  work.  If  we  are  to  do  men  lasting  good,  we  must 
seek  to  keep  them  from  constant  drift,  and  have  them  grow 
up  out  of  their  place.  It  is  in  this  way  that  they  give  mutual 
guarantees  for  worthy  character,  and  that  ties  are  formed 
which  make  men  feel  they  belong  to  society,  and  are  more 
than  logs  floating  between  sea  and  sand.  And  if  we  are 
to  give  men  homes,  we  must  give  them  houses.  The  man 
so  far  makes  the  house,  but  the  house  so  far  also  makes 
the  man.  God,  whose  will  it  is  that  men  should  be  men, 
has  given  us  a  house  in  the  world  He  has  made,  which 
may  well  raise  our  nature  above  small  and  debasing  things. 
"When  He  bids  us  look  to  sun  or  stars  or  mountains  or 
seas,  He  says,  '  Think  of  this  house,  and  be  a  tenant 
worthy  of  it.'  "We  can  do  little  more  than  help  our 
fellow-men  to  look  to  Him  and  his  world ;  but  one  of  the 
helps  is  by  making  their  house,  as  far  as  we  can,  capable  of 
becoming  a  home.  It  is,  indeed,  a  very  difficult  and  com- 
plex matter,  for  there  are  different  rights  and  interests  to 
be  considered,  and  while  we  seek  justice  in  one  direction 
we  must  not  do  injustice  in  another.     But  it  is  an  aim  to 


138  HADAD  THE  EDOMITE. 

be  kept  in  view  steadily  by  Governments  in  giving  equit- 
able facilities,  by  philanthropists  in  their  labours,  and  by 
Christians  in  their  efforts  to  christianise  the  masses  of  the 
people.  It  is  one  of  the  good  things  of  our  time  that  more 
thought  is  bestowed  on  this  than  has  ever  been  before. 
And  until  it  is  realised,  the  Church  of  Christ  cannot  be 
permanently  healthy,  nor  our  native  land  safe  and  strong. 
If  in  city  and  country  the  mass  of  the  people  could  feel 
that  they  had  homes  in  which  they  had  some  just  cause 
for  pride  and  pleasure,  something  which  they  could  call 
their  own,  we  should  fear  neither  threats  of  invasion  nor 
murmurs  of  revolt.  True  patriotism  and  true  religion  go 
hand  in  hand,  for  God  has  called  Himself  the  God  of  families, 
and  a  happy  native  land  is  a  land  full  of  happy  homes. 

Another  thought  suggested  by  this  feeling  is  that  it 
leads  to  acts  of  great  self-sacrifice  and  endeavour.  Next  to 
religion,  there  is  probably  nothing  in  human  nature  which 
has  called  out  such  a  heroic  spirit  of  martyrdom,  or  such 
long,  persistent  labour,  as  the  love  of  native  land.  The 
grandest  part  of  the  history  of  nations  has  been  the  period 
when  they  have  risen  for  independence  and  freedom, 
against  the  attempts  to  crush  out  their  liberty  or  their 
separate  life,  and  when  they  have  left  names  of  leaders 
which  make  hearts  of  men  throb  and  thrill  wherever  they 
are  heard.  It  is  a  poor  Christianity,  because  it  is  not  a 
true  humanity,  which  affects  to  disregard  this.  There 
may  be  vanities  and  unreasonable  jealousies,  prolonged 
and  hurtful  irritations,  which  spring  from  these  struggles, 
but  in  the  struggle  itself  there  is  a  true  principle  at  work. 
Were  the  life  of  a  nation  destroyed,  or  hindered  of  its  own 
proper  development,  every  individual  for  long  generations 
would  suffer  thereby.  There  is  an  heirloom  of  stimulus 
to  a  whole  race  in  the  heroic  acts  of  those  who  have 
bequeathed  them  a  name  among  the  nations  of  the  world. 


HADAD  THE  EDOMITE.  139 

It  is  one  of  the  high  motives,  though  not  the  highest,  by 
which  God's  providence  educates  many  men  to  rise  above 
egotism,  and  take  larger  views  of  life  than  what  they  should 
eat  and  what  they  should  drink  and  wherewithal  they 
should  be  clothed.  It  serves  some  men,  meanwhile,  for  a 
kind  of  religion,  and  keeps  a  people  from  being  utterly 
materialised,  till  it  comes  in  view  of  still  loftier  principles 
of  life.  Beacon-lights  on  land  are  valuable  wheri  the  stars 
are  hidden,  and  may  have  their  use  even  when  the  stars 
are  seen.  But,  besides  such  birth-throes  of  nations,  there 
is  their  continuous  existence,  when  long  and  persevering 
labour  is  needed  to  help  them  not  only  to  live,  but  to 
live  well.  Philanthropy,  the  love  of  man  as  man,  is  great 
and  generous ;  but  we  are  not  so  rich  in  it  that  we  can  let 
patriotism  go.  There  are  men  who  can  be  reached  by  the 
love  of  fellow-countrymen,  when  they  cannot  be  moved  by 
the  love  of  their  fellow-men;  and  it  is  quite  possible  for 
a  man  to  have  both.  The  narrower  is  sometimes  more 
intense  and  energetic  than  the  wider.  In  the  annals  of  the 
civil  wars  in  England,  an  officer,  who  had  fought  in  many 
battles  abroad,  tells  that  in  his  first  fight  on  English  ground 
he  heard  a  cry  of  agony  in  his  own  tongue,  and  he  looked 
behind  him  to  see  who  of  his  men  was  killed.  He  dis- 
covered that  the  cry  came  from  the  opposing  ranks,  and 
then  first  he  realised  what  a  terrible  thing  it  was  to  kill 
his  own  countrymen.  There  are  many  who  feel  it  so  in 
our  quieter  times,  and  who  can  be  stirred  more  strongly 
to  save  from  destitution  and  death  those  who  speak  their 
own  language,  and  have  a  nearer  blood  beating  in  their 
heart.  And  though  this  in  its  turn  may  become  selfish 
and  exclusive,  it  has  in  it  something  that  is  natural  and 
right.  God's  providence  has  connected  us  with  a  particular 
land  and  race,  and  nature  prompts  us  to  take  a  special 
interest  in  them.     We  should  not  hide  our  face  from  our 


140  HAD  AD  THE  EDOMITE. 

own  flesh.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  said,  "  Go  into  all 
the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature;"  and 
our  hearts  would  be  narrowed,  and  nearer  interests  them- 
selves would  suffer,  if  we  ever  forgot  this  universal  com- 
mission ;  we  need  to  keep  it  up  for  the  assertion  of  our 
Monarch's  claims,  of  the  world's  inheritance,  and  of  our 
own  full  responsibility.  But  love  of  country  has  its  rights 
in  the  very  heart  of  Christianity.  The  apostle  Paul  was 
not  wrong  when,  with  all  that  he  did  as  the  apostle  of  the 
Gentiles,  he  said,  "  I  have  great  heaviness  and  continual 
sorrow  in  my  heart  for  my  brethren,  my  kinsmen  accord- 
ing to  the  flesh."  When  we  become  Christians  we  remain 
men.  One  of  the  songs  of  our  native  country  which  has 
come  floating  down  through  centuries,  and  which  resembles 
some  of  the  old  historic  psalms,  but  without  the  central 
Zion  and  divine  breath,  tells  of  a  mother  who  found 
her  two  sons  returned  mysteriously  for  a  single  night 
to  their  home — "  And  she  wrapped  them  in  her  warm 
mantle,  because  they  were  her  own."  We  cannot  escape 
from  this  strange  tie  of  blood,  and  we  should  not  seek  to 
escape  from  it,  but  rather  turn  it  to  its  proper  use.  It 
should  lead  us  to  care  more  tenderly  for  the  sufferings  of 
some,  because  they  are  our  countrymen,  and  to  work  with 
more  self-denial  for  the  progress  of  our  country  in  know- 
ledge and  righteousness  and  true  religion,  because  it  is 
ours.  God  did  not  form  this  strong  tie  without  attaching 
a  high  duty  to  it. 

Another  thought  suggested  by  this  feeling  is,  that  it 
should  enable  us  to  understand  the  hearts,  and  work  for  the 
rights  of  all  men.  There  is  a  rule  recommended  by  some 
religious  communities,  that  their  members  should  have  no 
special  friendships  ;  that  they  should  do  nothing  for  each 
other  as  friends.  And  there  are  some  philosophers  who 
defend  this.     They  say  that  "  friendship  is  a  barrier  which 


HADAD  THE  EDOMITE.  141 

hides  from  view  the  qualities  of  many  who  are  more  worthy 
of  regard,  that  it  is  a  kind  of  theft  from  the  common  good 
for  the  benefit  of  a  few,  and  that,  in  a  higher  state  of 
society,  friendship  will  disappear ;  "  which  amounts  very 
much  to  saying  that  if  we  put  out  our  eyes,  so  as  not  to 
see  things  that  are  close  to  us,  we  shall  be  more  likely 
to  discover  those  that  are  far  away.  These  are  the  theories 
of  men  who  have  either  had  no  hearts  to  begin  with,  or  have 
managed  to  cover  them  by  cobwebs  of  speculation.  God 
has  not  made  his  world  on  these  principles,  and  no  high 
society  can  ever  be  formed  which  does  not  take  with  it 
what  is  true  in  the  lower.  If  we  can  discover  a  man  who 
has  no  special  love  for  what  is  near  him,  he  is  not  likely 
to  love  what  is  a  hundred  or  a  thousand  miles  away,  and 
still  less  to  love  some  abstraction  called  humanity,  in  what- 
ever fine  terms  it  may  be  described.  The  heart  is  the  inner 
eye,  and  it  must  be  opened  first  to  what  comes  close 
to  it,  if  it  is  ever  to  see  anything  else  in  the  world  of  man 
or  God.  Nor  is  it  necessary  that  the  nearest  should  be 
left  behind  to  reach  the  furthest.  Unless  the  nearest,  if 
it  be  really  worthy  of  affection,  be  taken  up  and  on,  the 
furthest  will  never  be  overtaken.  Augustine  has  said  that 
we  may  make  a  ladder  of  the  dead  things  within  us,  to 
climb  to  the  highest ;  but  there  is  another  ladder  of  living 
things  by  which  we  can  rise  as  high,  and  by  which  our 
sympathies  can  be  travelling  to  and  fro  like  the  angels  in 
the  dream  of  Bethel.  The  vision  begins  in  the  dreamer's 
own  breast,  and  then  it  passes  up  into  the  skies.  This  is 
the  very  way  in  which  God  himself  has  dealt  with  us. 
He  came  from  the  limits  of  the  universe  into  this  world, 
and  became  our  friend,  that  He  might  lead  us  step  by  step 
into  the  fulness  of  Him  that  filleth  all  in  all. 

Now,    you  will  see  that  this  is  the    course  of    Bible 
teaching  in   the   growth    of  human   duties — the    family, 


142  HADAD  THE  EDOMITE. 

the  native  land,  the  world;  and  if  the  Jew  had  been 
willing  to  carry  his  love  of  land  into  the  world  he 
would  have  kept  his  country  yet.  What  we  have  to 
learn,  then,  from  the  New  Testament  is,  not  to  love  our 
native  land  less,  but  to  use  our  love  to  it  as  a  key  of 
sympathy  into  the  patriotism  of  others,  with  all  their 
memories  of  what  is  noble  in  their  past  history,  and  what 
is  praiseworthy  in  their  aspirations  and  efforts  to  raise 
themselves  in  the  scale  of  nations.  The  mere  economy  of 
things  might  teach  us  that,  as  the  growing  happiness  of 
families  in  a  nation  is  the  good  of  every  family,  so  the 
growing  welfare  of  nations  is  the  interest  of  every  nation. 
But  a  Christian  patriot  has  a  more  direct  road  to  it.  He 
will  sympathise,  from  what  he  feels  in  himself,  with  the 
rights  and  just  aims  of  other  peoples,  and  wili  seek  to  help 
them  to  their  due  place.  There  is  a  golden  rule  which  is 
intended  to  govern  the  duties  of  nations  to  each  other  as 
well  as  the  duties  of  single  men.  If  we  are  Christians, 
we  shall  feel  that  the  one  great  means  of  gaining  this  for 
the  world  is  the  spread  of  the  religion  of  Christ,  the 
religion  of  freedom,  of  justice,  of  mercy,  and  of  broad 
humanity.  And  even  here,  too,  we  might  be  helped  to  our 
end,  if  we  studied  with  more  sympathy  the  susceptibilities 
of  different  nations,  and  sought  to  present  the  Gospel  in 
the  way  in  which  their  history  has  prepared  them  for  it. 
There  is  one  Christianity,  but  there  are  different  paths  in 
which  nations  are  conducted  to  it  by  the  divine  hand. 
The  Jewish  nation  had  the  central  place,  "of  whom  as 
concerning  the  flesh  Christ  came,"  but  the  Greek  in  his 
love  of  wisdom,  the  Roman  in  his  ardour  for  one  empire, 
the  Briton  in  his  instinct  for  freedom,  were  led  to  find  in 
it  some  lower  good,  purified  and  crowned  by  the  highest 
blessing.  There  are  nations  still  in  this  position,  not  far 
from  the   kingdom,  if  we  were   sympathisingly  to  study 


HAD  AD  THE  EDOMITE.  143 

them,  and  help  them  to  stretch  out  the  hand  to  the  hem 
of  the  healing  garment.  Even  the  weak  oppressed  races, 
among  whom  the  consciousness  of  a  nation  has  not  begun 
to  exist,  have  their  claims  on  us.  They  seem  placed  like 
some  of  the  maimed  members  of  the  human  family  about 
us,  to  excite  a  deeper  pity,  and  to  try  our  sense  of  equity 
in  their  feeble  power  of  self-defence.  There  is  nothing 
which  shows  a  finer  edge  of  patriotism,  than  the  way  in 
which  a  nation  feels  its  honour  engaged  to  deal  tenderly  with 
these  races,  as  the  prophet  describes  them,  "  scattered  and 
peeled,  meted  out  and  trodden  down  ;  "  and  if  God  "  deals  a 
blow"  at  a  haughty  power  it  is  most  likely  to  be  in  behalf  of 
some  poor  tribe  that  cannot  strike  for  itself.  If  we  love  our 
own  land,  let  us  keep  it  free  from  this  wrong  and  peril. 

The  last  thought  we  suggest  is,  that  this  feeling  may  help 
the  conception  of  another  and  a  higher  country.  It  is  quite 
true  that  we  find  the  spirit  of  patriotism  filling  the  hearts 
of  men  with  the  highest  enthusiasm,  and  spreading  itself 
over  masses  of  men  and  long  periods,  but  bringing  little 
spiritual  desire.  Yet  it  is  one  of  the  ways,  as  we  have 
said,  by  which  God  keeps  the  heart  above  sensualism  and 
utter  selfishness — a  kind  of  salt  that  saves  nations  from 
entire  corruption.  When  his  time  comes  for  breathing  in 
higher  desires  by  his  word  and  Spirit,  He  takes  hold  of 
this  as  of  other  natural  human  affections,  to  lift  men 
to  the  "  fatherland  of  souls,"  as  one  has  named  it.  A 
Christian  father  has  said,  "  The  natural  love  (of  man) 
builds  the  cities  of  men,  and  the  divine  love  (of  God) 
builds  the  city  of  God," — they  are  the  lower  and  higher 
planes  of  something  in  our  nature.  It  is  a  token  of  our 
fallen  state  that,  when  they  are  so  near,  men  so  seldom 
pass  from  the  one  to  the  other.  But  we  see  in  the  Bible 
that  the  thoughts  of  native  land  and  home  are  more  than 
any  others  the  figures  which  God  has  used  to  convey  to  us 


144  HAD  AD  THE  EDOMITE. 

conceptions  about  the  future.  They  are  more  than  figures. 
They  have  been  woven  into  his  plan  of  education.  He 
made  the  old  patriarchs  exiles,  in  order  that  he  might 
create  in  them  the  longing  which  went  further  than  any 
land,  behind  or  before  them,  in  this  world.  "  And  truly, 
if  they  had  been  mindful  of  that  country  from  whence  they 
came  out,  they  might  have  had  opportunity  to  have 
returned.  But  now  they  desire  a  better  country,  that  is, 
an  heavenly."  He  took  their  children  into  a  land  flowing 
with  milk  and  honey,  "  the  glory  of  all  lands,"  as  He 
called  it,  and  they  found  disappointment  and  unrest  in  it, 
that  they  might  look  forward  to  "  the  rest  which  remaineth 
to  the  people  of  God."  The  last  view  given  us  of  the 
heavenly  world  is  that  of  a  land  and  city  which  have 
over  them  a  Father  and  an  Elder  Brother,  and  for  friends 
the  nations  of  the  saved. 

We  sometimes  ask  ourselves,  Can  these  distinctions 
which  mark  us  out  as  kindreds  and  peoples,  and  bind  us 
closely  together  in  ties  of  affection  and  suffering  and 
work,  survive  in  another  world  1  In  their  earthly  form 
they  must  pass  away,  as  flesh  and  blood  cannot  inherit 
God's  kingdom,  but  there  are  differences  of  temperament 
and  character,  even  in  perfected  beings,  which  may  spring 
from  the  histories  of  this  world,  and  contribute  to  the 
endless  variety  of  another.  The  emblem  which  the 
apostle  uses  of  the  different  kinds  of  grain,  each  receiving 
its  own  body  in  the  resurrection,  will  apply  not  only  to 
individuals,  but  to  kindreds ;  for  what  are  kindreds  but 
individuals  brought  together  according  to  their  kind  ?  If 
we  can  think  of  this,  it  will  not  take  away  from  the 
perfectness  of  the  affection  of  another  world,  but  rather 
add  to  it.  We  are  bound  to  one  another  by  what  we  see 
of  difference,  as  well  as  by  what  we  feel  of  deep  heart 
agreement.     Meanwhile,  let  us  make  it  sure  that  we  come 


HAD  AD  THE  EDOMITE.  145 

to  the  place  where  all  these  things  and  many  more  shall 
be  made  plain.  "  Let  us  fear  lest,  a  promise  being  left 
us  of  entering  into  his  rest,  any  of  us  should  seem  to 
come  short  of  it."  We  should  purify  our  affection 
for  the  lower,  that  it  may  lead  us  on  and  lift  us 
up  to  the  higher.  The  labour  for  the  welfare  of  our 
dear  native  land  should  pass  over  into  effort  to  make  its 
people  part  of  the  kingdom  that  cannot  be  moved ;  the 
tender  thoughts  that  make  us  long  after  it  in  absence,  or 
when  thinking  of  the  great  and  good  who  have  suffered 
and  died  for  it,  should  transfer  our  hearts  to  the  true 
native  land,  whence  we  have  drawn  our  birth,  if  we  are 
Christians,  and  where  He  is,  who  gathers  round  Him  all 
whose  eyes  from  many  ages  and  countries  have  been 
turning  toward  his  cross. 

"  0  sweet  and  blessed  country, 
The  home  of  God's  elect, 
0  sweet  and  blessed  country, 
That  eager  hearts  expect !  " 

There  have  been  those  who  have  had  their  affections 
so  borne  up  by  heavenly  attraction  that,  though  they 
had  all  the  happiness  of  earth,  they  couM  not  be  satis- 
fied with  it,  and  would,  if  asked  to  remain,  reply  in 
the  words,  "  And  he  said  unto  him,  But  what  hast  thou 
lacked  with  me,  that,  behold,  thou  seekest  to  go  to  thine 
own  country  1  And  he  answered,  Nothing ;  howbeit  let 
me  go  in  any  wise." 


K 


X. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  USES  OF  LEISURE. 

"  And  He  said  unto  them,  Come  ye  yourselves  apart  into  a  desert 
2>lace,  and  rest  a  while" — Mark  vi.  31. 

If  we  look  back  a  little  way  into  the  narrative,  we  shall 
understand  better  the  occasion  of  this  invitation.  In  the 
beginning  of  the  chapter  we  are  told  that  our  Lord  sent 
out  his  disciples  to  labour  in  the  instruction  of  the  people. 
They  must  commence  under  his  own  guidance  the  work 
they  were  to  carry  on  after  his  death.  They  performed 
their  mission  with  great  ardour  and  success.  A  deep 
interest  was  created,  and  the  crowds  thronged  around 
them  till  they  had  not  time  so  much  as  to  eat.  When 
they  returned,  their  Master  saw  their  exhaustion,  and 
made  provision  for  it.  They  needed  repose  of  mind  as 
well  as  of  body — the  quiet  that  is  required  after  excite- 
ment even  more  than  after  toil.  There  is  a  kindly  con- 
siderateness  in  the  words  of  Christ,  a  friendly  sympathy 
with  what  may  be  called  the  lesser  sufferings  of  our  nature, 
which  may  give  us  confidence  in  still  putting  before  Him 
the  smallest  wants  and  weaknesses.  He  had  an  end  in 
view  that  took  in  the  whole  world,  but  He  was  not  of  those 
iron-hearted  philanthropists  who  are  cruel  to  men  that 
they  may  work  out  their  scheme  for  man,  and  who  break 
their  instruments  in  the  passion  for  their  theory.  The 
zeal  of  God's  .house  consumed  Him;  He  had  compassion 
on  the  multitudes,  and  spent  Himself  for  them ;  but  He 
devised  hours  of  repose  for  his  weary  fellow-workers. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  USES  OF  LEISURE.  147 

Another  event  recorded  in  this  chapter  had  probably  a 
share  in  this  call  to  retirement.  It  seems  to  have  been 
about  the  time  of  their  return  to  Christ  that  the  news 
came  of  the  death  of  John  the  Baptist,  It  no  doubt  sent 
a  strange  shock  to  their  heart.  Some  of  them  had  been 
his  followers,  and  knew  him  intimately ;  and  all  of  them 
revered  him  as  a  divine  messenger  of  extraordinary  power 
and  faithfulness.  The  details  of  banqueting  and  blood, 
the  man  of  God  meeting  his  executioners  in  the  gloom  of 
the  dungeon,  the  glare  of  the  lights  above  on  the  maiden 
and  her  frightful  gift,  strike  us  still  with  a  shudder,  and 
may  help  us  to  realise  how  those  felt  it  who  were  in  the 
presence  of  the  event.  It  was  not  merely  that  they  had 
lost  a  friend,  but  that  God  seemed  indifferent  to  his  own 
cause  and  its  truest  witnesses.  Their  faith  must  have 
been  sorely  tried,  questionings  must  have  been  stirred 
within  them  to  which  they  could  find  no  answer,  and  it 
was  to  tranquillise  their  spirit,  as  well  as  refresh  exhausted 
mind  and  body,  that  our  Lord  said  to  them,  "  Come  ye 
yourselves  apart  into  a  desert  place,  and  rest  a  while." 

Before  speaking  of  the  uses  which  Christ  intended  this 
season  of  leisure  to  serve,  we  may  make  some  remarks  on 
the  necessity  for  rest  which  God  has  imposed  on  our  con- 
stitution. It  is  important  to  be  convinced  that  there  is  a 
law  requiring  repose  that  we  may  avail  ourselves  of  it 
without  scruple,  and  give  the  advantage  of  it  to  others 
without  grudging. 

It  is  surely  easy  to  see  that  God  has  signified  it  to  us 
in  his  material  creation.  He  has  made  the  earth  to 
revolve  on  her  axis  in  a  way  that  brings  her  at  stated 
seasons  under  light  and  shade ;  and  He  has  in  a  general 
but  very  marked  way  proportioned  the  physical  strength 
of  man  to  those  seasons.  The  hands  begin  to  slacken  and 
the  eyes  to  close  when  God  draws  the  curtain.     It  is  one 


148  THE  CHRISTIAN  USES  OF  LEISURE. 

of  those  adaptations  which  remind  ns  that  "  the  earth  He 
hath  given  to  the  children  of  men."  It  is  a  general  pro- 
portion, as  we  have  said,  not  enforced  nor  rigid,  but  such 
as  to  show  what  his  kindly  purpose  is.  No  man  should 
transgress  it  in  regard  to  himself  or  another.  The  thought- 
less or  covetous  over-tension  of  our  own  powers,  slavery, 
hard  driving  of  those  who  may  be  under  our  control,  the 
feeling  that  we  can  never  get  enough  of  work  out  of  our 
fellow-creatures,  the  evil  eye  cast  on  their  well-earned  rest 
or  harmless  recreation,  are  all  condemned  by  the  laws  laid 
down  by  God,  and  rebuked  by  this  example  of  Christ. 
"  The  righteous  man  regardeth  the  life  of  his  beast."  He 
carries  a  shadow  of  mercy  about  him  beneath  which  the 
meanest  of  God's  creatures  find  their  rights  acknowledged 
— the  night  rest  and  the  Sabbath  rest,  or  their  full  equiva- 
lents. It  is  pleasant  to  think  that  Christ  takes  the  bodily 
frame  as  well  as  the  soul  into  his  compassionate  keeping, 
and  that  He  looked  as  we  do  with  a  kindly  eye  on  the 
signs  which  God  has  set  in  his  creation  that  "  man  should 
go  forth  to  his  work  and  to  his  labour  until  the  evening." 
We  may  expect  to  find  the  same  true  of  mental  exertion. 
Even  if  the  mind  were  not  dependent  in  this  world  on  the 
body,  it  would  seem  as  if  the  continuous  strain  on  any  one 
object  indisposed  it  for  gaining  its  full  end — the  discovery 
of  truth.  It  must  learn  at  times  to  look  away  from  things 
as  well  as  at  them,  if  it  is  to  see  clearly  and  soundly.  It 
mast  close  to  thought  with  a  kind  of  inaction,  and  must 
rest  like  the  eye  in  darkness,  if  it  is  to  preserve  its  health 
and  have  a  true,  undistorted  view  of  God's  world.  There 
are  some  who  reckon  every  pause  in  active  thought  so 
much  of  lost  time ;  but  when  the  mind  is  lying  fallow  it 
may  be  laying  up  capacity  of  stronger  growth.  There  is 
an  absorption  of  sunlight  and  air,  an  imbibing  of  common 
healthful  influences,  a  comparative  doing  nothing  which  is 


THE  CHRISTIAN  USES  OF  LEISURE.  149 

as  necessary  to  man's  intellect  as  to  his  physical  nature. 
When  any  one,  who  knows  that  it  is  not  indolence  in  him, 
feels  thought  to  be  a  heavy  burden,  and  that  objects  of 
thought  once  interesting  have  lost  all  colour  and  freshness 
it  is  time  to  give  the  mind  repose. 

But  the  present  subject  leads  us  to  speak  more  of  the 
spiritual  faculties.  They  are  subject  to  the  same  law. 
There  are  cases  in  which  there  may  be  a  constant  strain  of 
active  religious  work  which  at  last  deadens  feeling  and 
produces  formality.  It  is  true  there  are  natures  that  have 
an  inextinguishable  fire  of  zeal  and  depth  of  emotion  which 
enable  them  to  go  on  unresting — burning  more  and  more, 
as  well  as  shining;  but  others,  and  these  the  greater 
number,  feel  the  grandest  objects  become  common,  and  the 
tenderest  grow  hard  when  they  are  incessantly  handled. 
This  is  one  of  the  dangers  to  be  guarded  against  in  seasons 
of  strong  religious  excitement,  in  what  are  called  revival 
movements ;  and  we  should  either  try  to  keep  the  move- 
ment healthful  by  dealing  with  the  understanding  and  con- 
science as  well  as  the  emotions,  or  we  should  interpose  a 
quiet,  thoughtful  interval.  You  cannot  but  observe  how 
varied  the  Bible  is  as  you  read  it ;  how,  with  the  same 
truth  all  through,  history  succeeds  poetry,  and  practical 
precepts  follow  up  the  most  moving  appeals ;  you  can- 
not but  see  how  Christ  leads  his  disciples  from  the  ex- 
citement of  Jerusalem  to  the  quiet  of  Bethany,  takes 
them  from  the  midst  of  the  multitude  to  the  fields  and 
hillsides;  and  one  purpose  no  doubt  was  that  spiritual 
religion  might  not  be  lost  through  sensationalism.  We 
have  times  of  depression  when  we  blame  the  temptations 
of  Satan  and  the  coldness  of  our  own  hearts,  and  no  doubt 
we  should  jealously  guard  against  the  insidious  chill  that 
comes  from  these ;  but  when  we  have  earnestly  struggled 
all  in  vain,  it  may  be  time  to  inquire  whether  we  have  not 


150  THE  CHRISTIAN  USES  OF  LEISURE. 

been  losing  our  proper  religious  feeling  through  over-excite- 
ment, or  the  tension  of  too  constant  activity.  This  is  the 
hazard  that  ministers,  missionaries,  and  Christians  de- 
votedly given  to  sacred  work  have  to  avoid — not  to  go 
on  in  even  the  best  of  works  till  they  become  barren,  ex- 
ternal exercises,  but  to  pause  or  turn  to  some  other  side  of 
Christian  occupation.  This  may  be  one  of  the  ways  of  not 
becoming  "  weary  in  well  doing." 

Then,  again,  there  may  be  those  who,  like  the  disciples, 
are  not  merely  exhausted  by  labour,  but  perplexed  by 
some  painful  subject  of  thought.  The  cruel  death  of  John 
the  Baptist  was  likely  to  make  them  feel  that  God  had 
given  up  his  government  of  the  world,  and  that  sin  could 
go  on  without  outward  check  or  inward  compunction. 
Difficulties  of  this  kind  are  in  some  shape  or  other  con- 
stantly turning  up  to  perplex  a  certain  class  of  thinkers. 
It  is  the  besetting  trial  of  their  Christian  life.  They  find 
it  hard  to  realise  a  spiritual  world  existing  beneath  the 
face  of  the  visible,  to  be  thoroughly  convinced  of  a  great 
moral  law  working  among  and  above  all  the  ravages  and 
temporary  triumphs  of  sin,  and  to  be  sure  that  there  is  a 
God  and  a  soul  and  an  eternity.  There  are  some  natures 
which  have  such  a  passion  for  certainty  that  they  can  do 
nothing  but  dig  down  to  the  roots  of  these  subjects  to  see 
that  they  are  not  mere  artificial  creations  of  man's  device, 
but  living  realities  fixed  in,  and  growing  up  from,  the  soil 
of  God's  universe.  The  love  of  certainty  can  never  be 
carried  too  far,  but  there  may  be  a  wrong  way  of  satisfy- 
ing it.  Men  may  dig  at  the  roots  of  things  and  lose  sight 
of  the  evidence  of  life  which  humbler  minds  can  gather 
quietly  under  the  shadows  of  green  branches,  and  from  the 
nourishment  of  refreshing  fruits.  What  some  minds  find 
it  hard  to  gain  by  sore  thought  and  toil,  others  can  receive 
in  unstrnggling  acquiescence.     "  A  little  child  shall  lead 


THE  CIIRISTIA.N  USES  OF  LEISURE.  151 

them."  The  passion  to  be  perfectly  certain  about  a  thing 
in  the  way  of  questioning  and  argument  makes  one  jealous 
at  last  about  the  most  satisfactory  reasons,  and  the  proofs 
are  pored  over  till  the  mind  loses  sight  of  their  full  bear- 
ing and  power.  There  are  times  when,  for  the  sake  of 
full  conviction,  vexed  minds  should  lay  their  difficulties 
aside,  occupy  themselves  with  quieter  walks,  and  come  back 
on  their  doubts  as  if  for  the  first  time.  Now,  for  both 
these  conditions  of  spirit — the  dulness  that  might  come 
from  exhaustion  and  over-excitement,  and  the  perplexed 
thought  about  spiritual  difficulties — Christ  proposes  this 
remedy,  "  Come  ye  yourselves  apart  into  a  desert  place, 
and  rest  a  while." 

Let  us  next  proceed  to  consider  what  He  offers  in  this 
leisure.  It  is  not  an  indolent  animal  repose,  but  that  rest 
of  refreshment  which  befits  those  who  have  souls.  We 
shall  take  the  context  for  our  illustration. 

One  element  in  it  is  communion  with  outward  nature. 
Christ  invites  his  disciples  into  a  "  desert  place,"  not  a 
waste  sandy  desert,  as  many  figure  to  themselves,  but  a 
thinly  peopled  region  away  from  towns  and  crowds. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  was  to  the  country  east  of 
the  Sea  of  Galilee  among  rolling  hills  and  grassy  plains 
and  quiet  mountain  flocks,  with  the  blue  sky  overhead  and 
distant  glimpses  of  the  deeper  blue  of  the  lake.  One  of 
the  saddest  things  about  our  modern  civilisation  is  that  so 
many  thousands  of  our  fellow-creatures  have  so  little 
opportunity  for  cultivating  a  pleasure  in  this  side  of  God's 
world.  Certainly  He  made  the  earth  not  only  for  the 
support  of  man's  body,  to  yield  him  food  and  clothing,  but 
for  the  nurture  of  his  mind  and  spirit,  to  suit  their  moods 
and  to  supply  them  with  thought  and  stimulus.  Would  a 
wise  architect  build  his  house  only  with  an  eye  to  stores 
and  animal  comforts,  and  with  no  regard  to  its  being  a 


152  THE  CHRISTIAN  USES  OF  LEISURE. 

home  for  a  man,  with  windows  opening  on  wide  expanses 
of  land  and  sea,  or  quiet  nooks  of  homely  beauty  1  This 
world  has  not  been  formed  on  the  tame  utilitarian  principle 
of  feeding  so  many  million  consumers,  but  with  a  regard 
to  soul — to  provide  for  the  inner  eye  scenes  of  grandeur 
and  sublimity — to  train  spirits  to  thoughts  above  dead 
matter  by  the  spiritual  forms  with  which  matter  is  clothed ; 
and  hence  the  mountain  wilds,  the  desolate  moorlands,  the 
terror  of  Alpine  heights  and  boundless  breadth  of  seas  and 
desert  sands.  In  these  shapes  of  creative  power,  so  far 
away  from  what  we  reckon  the  profitable  employment  of 
space,  God  is  proving  Himself  not  merely  a  former  of  men's 
bodies,  but  a  Father  to  their  spirits,  lifting  us  up  from  the 
dull  content  of  an  animal  existence  to  thoughts  of  illimit- 
able freedom  and  range — and  this  not  only  when  we  look 
on  such  scenes,  but  when  we  hear  or  read  or  dream  of 
them  in  fancy.  Who  does  not  see  that  the  Word  of  God 
all  through  has  interwrought  these  scenes  of  nature  with 
a  special  fitness  into  its  own  revelations,  as  if  it  wished 
that  man  in  his  highest  thoughts  of  his  Maker  should 
always  feel  himself  in  the  face  of  his  Maker's  works  ? 
The  awful  rocks  and  oppressive  solitudes  of  Horeb,  splin- 
tered peaks  and  dumb  wastes,  were  an  appropriate  birth- 
place for  the  stern  majesty  of  law, — the  hill  of  the 
Beatitudes,  with  fresh  flowers  and  singing  birds,  a  throne 
for  the  Teacher  of  mercy, — and  the  island  of  Patmos, 
looking  away  between  sea  and  sky  to  the  boundless 
regions  of  the  west,  a  watch-tower  for  the  inspired  seer 
who  beheld  the  triumphs  of  the  kingdom  of  God  filling 
the  earth,  and  rising  to  heaven.  We  should  endeavour  to 
make  the  inner  world  of  our  thoughts  about  God  and 
spiritual  things  not  a  separate  life  from  the  outer  world  of 
creation,  but  with  a  union  like  that  between  body  and 
soul.      If  we  could   learn  to   do   this   rightly,   it   would 


THE  CHRISTIAN  USES  OF  LEISURE.  l.r).°, 

strengthen  us  in  good  thoughts,  and  relieve  doubts  and 
calm  anxieties.  Many  a  fevered  brow  and  cumbered 
spirit  might  feel  a  soothing  hand  laid  upon  them,  pointing 
them,  as  it  did  Abraham  long  ago  to  the  broad  heaven 
(Gen.  xv.  5),  or  Christ's  disciples  to  the  grass  of  the  field, 
that  they  may  learn  tranquillity.  Nature  can  do  very 
little  for  us  if  we  have  no  perception  of  a  divine  spirit 
breathing  through  it,  but  very  much  if  the  great  Inter- 
preter is  with  us.  There  are  many,  indeed,  who  have 
little  opportunity  for  any  lengthened  access  to  her  fair, 
wide  pages,  but  few  are  altogether  shut  out  if  they  will 
keep  an  open  eye  and  heart.  The  grandest  things  in  all 
the  world  are  at  the  door  of  those  who  will  admit  them. 
If  we  can  steal  glimpses  for  a  few  hours  of  green  fields 
and  clear  waters,  they  can  be  our  own  for  ever  in  memory, 
and,  blessed  be  God !  give  us  glorious  hopes  of  brighter 
scenes.  We  are  never  excluded  from  his  wide  sky,  from  sun- 
sets that  stream  momentary  glory  over  our  dusky  cities,  and 
calm  moons  that  look  so  compassionately  through  the  clouds 
upon  our  vain  turmoil ;  and  if  a  man  be  so  inclined,  he  can 
be  more  quieted  and  comforted  by  the  sight  of  a  little  flower 
in  his  window  or  a  star  shining  down  through  piled-up  roofs, 
than  another  may  be  who  has  the  leisure  of  all  his  days, 
and  the  breadth  of  continents  to  spend  them  in.  The  world 
of  nature  is  like  its  God,  entire  wherever  we  see  a  touch  of 
its  finger.  And  if  we  surrender  ourselves  to  this  Teacher, 
He  can  show  us  wide  views  through  narrow  windows,  and 
speak  lessons  of  deep  calm  in  short  moments. 

Another  element  of  rest  to  be  cultivated  in  leisure  is 
intercourse  with  fellow-Christians.  The  wish  to  cultivate 
a  life  of  repose  separated  from  the  active  world  has  shown 
itself  in  almost  every  religion.  There  is  a  yearning  for 
it  in  certain  natures ;  and  if  the  state  of  society  be  very 
corrupt  and  the  mind  quiet  and  self-inspective,  it  becomes 


154  THE  CHRISTIAN  USES  OF  LEISURE. 

very  strong.  We  lmow  how  early  and  how  often  it  has 
shown  itself  in  Christianity.  It  is  many  centuries  since 
the  monks  of  Egypt  hid  themselves  among  the  dreary 
sands  of  the  Thebaid;  and  the  most  lonely  islands  of  the 
Hebrides  have  the  cells  still  standing  in  which  solitary 
recluses,  who  found  Iona  too  social,  sought  to  perfect  their 
spiritual  life.  Perhaps  most  of  us  have  felt  times  of 
weariness  of  the  toil  and  temptation  and  strife,  when  we 
have  thought  that  if  we  might  reach  some  isolation  of  this 
kind  we  could  become  wiser  and  better.  And  yet  few 
things  have  been  more  repeatedly  proved  by  experience 
than  that  tranquillity  of  spirit  is  not  to  be  attained  in 
this  way.  The  very  austerities  and  penances  that  these 
men  practised  is  one  of  the  surest  tokens  that  they  had 
not  gained  quiet.  They  had  to  do  battle  with  their  own 
hearts,  and  the  conflict  was  all  the  fiercer  that  it  was  a 
single  combat.  And  nothing  is  clearer  from  Scripture 
than  that  this  seclusion  is  opposed  both  to  its  spirit  and 
its  example.  It  is  against  the  stern  witness-bearing  of 
the  Old  Testament  and  the  human  tenderness  of  the  New. 
Elijah,  who  may  be  thought  to  have  approached  nearest 
to  it,  and  who  has  been  taken  as  the  model  of  anchorites, 
was  a  man  of  the  world  and  of  courts,  and  retired  to 
Carmel  and  Horeb  only  to  come  back  again  stronger  for 
the  duties  of  public  life.  There  are  times  when  complete 
retirement  for  prayer  and  heart  communion  is  good  for 
every  one.  He  can  never  stand  firmly  among  others  who 
has  not  learned  to  be  alone  j  but  the  retirement  should 
never  shut  out  thoughts  of  his  fellow-men,  and  should 
prepare  for  renewed  intercourse  with  them.  "When  Christ 
invited  his  disciples  to  come  apart  into  a  desert  place,  it 
was  that  they  might  be  more  in  each  other's  company. 
He  wished  to  give  them  an  opportunity  for  the  quiet  inter- 
change of  experience,  which  they  could  not  enjoy  in  their 


THE  CHRISTIAN  USES  OF  LEISURE.  155 

work  among  the  multitude.  They  had  much  to  say  about 
what  they  had  learned  of  the  power  of  their  Master's 
words  over  their  fellow-men  and  over  themselves.  Many 
dark  forebodings  would  flee  away  when  they  felt  that  their 
thoughts  and  fears  and  hopes  were  part  of  a  new  world 
that  was  common  to  them  all,  and  that  God  had  formed 
their  hearts  alike,  not  only  by  nature,  but  by  his  grace. 
What  a  refreshment  a  man  finds  it  to  be  when  he  comes 
from  the  outside  world,  with  its  chill  and  its  frequent 
selfishness,  back  to  the  warmth  of  his  hearth  and  to  hearts 
he  can  entirely  trust !  How  he  thanks  God  who  has 
given  his  spirit  the  rest  of  a  home  !  Let  us  ask  ourselves, 
Do  we  use  our  leisure  for  cultivating  a  feeling  like  this  in 
our  intercourse  with  those  who  hold  the  same  grand 
Christian  faith,  or  are  we  eager  when  released  for  a  short 
time  from  the  world's  work  to  run  into  the  worse  disquiet 
of  the  world's  frivolous  pleasures  1  What  society  and 
converse  do  we  seek  when  we  are  left  at  liberty  to  choose 
them  1  Do  we  ask  ourselves,  '  How  am  I  to  gain  most 
readily  refreshment  and  strength,  that  I  may  be  able  when 
I  go  into  the  active  work  of  life  again  to  do  my  part  man- 
fully and  Christianly  1 '  To  hold  conference  with  the 
best  of  men  in  books  is  a  great  thing,  and  to  converse  with 
God  in  his  Book,  and  in  our  hearts,  still  greater  ;  but  there 
will  always  be  a  want  in  a  man's  Christian  nature,  if  he 
has  not  come  into  contact  with  hearts  around  him  that 
are  beating  with  a  divine  life  to  the  pulse  of  the  present 
time.  Every  age,  every  circle  has  its  lessons  from  God, 
and  no  one  can  learn  them  all  alone.  We  are  all  of 
us  to  blame  in  not  being  more  frank  and  confidential  in 
these  matters  of  our  mutual  faith  and  hope.  Let  us, 
above  all  things,  be  natural,  and  say  no  more  than  we 
feel,  nor  affect  a  formal  and  conventional  talk,  but  let 
us  not  unnaturally  close  up  our  feeling  and  be  as  much 


156  THE  CHRISTIAN  USES  OF  LEISURE. 

hermits  in  our  spiritual  life  as  if  we  had  vowed  ourselves 
to  a  cell  or  a  wilderness.  If  we  use  our  leisure  to  make 
our  Christian  intercourse  what  it  should  be,  we  shall  find 
it  a  rest  to  our  spirits  whether  they  are  exhausted  with 
labour  or  perplexed  with  doubtful  thoughts.  It  is  not 
merely  the  refreshment  of  hearing  what  may  quicken  and 
comfort  us,  but  the  relief  of  unburdening  our  own  mind. 
Many  a  trouble  which  seems  to  have  an  unfathomed  depth, 
when  we  let  it  stagnate  in  our  breasts,  clears  itself  when 
we  give  it  vent  in  a  stream  of  Christian  fellowship.  Let 
it  be  remembered,  too,  that  such  an  interchange  of  feeling 
has  one  of  the  last  blessings  promised  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  one  of  the  first  bestowed  in  the  New.  When 
"  they  that  feared  the  Lord  spake  often  one  to  another, 
the  Lord  hearkened  and  heard  it"  (Mai.  iii.  16);  and 
when  the  two  disciples  journeying  to  Emmaus  spoke  to- 
gether of  Christ,  He  listened  and  joined  Himself  to  their 
company,  till  their  "  hearts  burned  within  them,"  and 
their  sorrows  and  doubts  were  all  consumed  in  the  flame 
(Luke  xxiv.  32). 

This  brings  us  to  the  third  element  of  rest  to  which 
the  leisure  of  the  disciples  gave  them  access,  a  closer  con- 
verse ivith  Christ  himself.  He  offers  to  accompany  them, 
and  withdraws  them  from  the  crowd  that  He  and  they 
may  be  more  entirely  together.  There  are  some  profess- 
ing Christians  who  speak  of  leaving  their  religion  aside 
for  a  little  when  they  go  on  recreation  or  into  certain 
kinds  of  society.  They  seem  to  think  it  belongs  to  par- 
ticular places  or  seasons,  and  can  be  laid  by  when  they 
cross  the  sea,  like  a  fashion  or  a  dress.  It  is  very  evident 
that  they  do  not  know  what  religion  means.  If  it  is  to 
be  with  us  at  any  time,  it  must  be  with  us  at  all  times. 
We  should  be  able  to  part  with  it  no  more  than  with  the 
heart  that  beats,  the   soul   that  thinks  within  us.     We 


THE  CHRISTIAN  USES  OF  LEISURE.  157 

should  never  go  where  we  would  blush  to  see  the  eye  of 
Christ  upon  us,  and  we  should  try  to  make  our  intercourse 
with  nature  and  with  friends  deeper  and  dearer  from  a 
sense  of  his  presence  hovering  always  round  us. 

And  yet,  as  there  are  times  when  we  are  more  alone  with 
our  own  souls,  so  there  are  times  when  we  can  be  more 
alone  with  the  thoughts  of  Christ.  When  we  are  doing 
our  appointed  work  in  God's  world,  or  labouring  actively 
for  the  good  of  others,  our  minds  are  dispersed  among 
outward  employments  ;  we  may  be  serving  our  Master 
very  truly  all  the  time,  but  we  are  careful  about  many 
things,  and  have  not  leisure  to  sit  at  his  feet  and  speak 
to  Him  about  our  own  individual  wants.  Now,  this  last 
is  most  necessary  in  its  place.  The  flame  will  not  burn 
very  long  or  very  bright,  unless  you  have  oil  in  your 
vessels  with  your  lamps.  You  will  find  it  an  arid  and 
formal  service,  a  distasteful  work  that  cannot  well  be 
permanent,  if  you  do  not  seek  seasons  when  you  can  go 
apart  with  the  Saviour  of  souls  and  confer  with  Him  on 
things  that  concern  not  other  men  and  the  Church,  but 
yourselves  and  your  own  soul's  position  towards  Him. 
Let  us  remember  the  zealous  watchfulness  of  the  great 
apostle,  who  was  careful  "  lest  that,  by  any  means,  when 
he  had  preached  to  others,  he  himself  should  be  a  castaway." 
It  is  very  unwise  to  take  the  matter  so  easily  for  granted 
when  we  have  the  example  of  one  who  had  the  care  of 
all  the  churches,  and  had  done  so  much  for  Christ,  and 
who  yet  found  time,  and  felt  it  to  be  needful,  to  inquire 
about  his  own  spiritual  wants.  We  do  not  pretend  to  give 
any  rules  for  conducting  this  exercise  of  the  heart,  and  have 
very  little  faith  in  them  when  they  are  imposed  by  one 
man  upon  another.  They  will  be  best  found  out  by  a 
man's  consideration  of  his  own  circumstances  and  neces- 
sities, and  the  spirit  of  them  all  is  to  be  found  in  this,  that 


158  THE  CHRISTIAN  USES  OF  LEISURE. 

he  should  go  to  Christ's  Word,  and  to  Christ  in  it,  not 
thinking  about  what  he  is  to  say  to  others,  or  how 
he  is  to  shape  its  truths  into  logical  and  persuasive  forms, 
but  about  what  it  says  to  the  profound  wants  of  his  own 
nature,  and  how  he  himself  has  found  it  to  be  bread  and 
water  of  life.  A  Christian  man  who  has  been  handling 
truth  throughout  the  week,  like  a  sword  and  shield,  bat- 
tling with  the  anxieties  and  temptations  of  business,  or 
who  has  been  urging  it  in  formal  shapes  upon  the  attention 
of  other  men,  will  find  it  like  a  rest  in  green  pastures  and 
beside  still  waters,  when  the  Commander  of  the  Lord's 
host  becomes  the  Shepherd  of  his  people,  and  invites  them 
to  speak  with  Him  as  a  man  talketh  with  his  friend. 

And  from  that  other  cause  of  exhaustion,  the  perplexity 
of  difficult  questions  in  God's  Word  or  God's  providence, 
this  use  of  our  leisure  will  also  give  relief.  There  are 
things  which  startle  and  stagger  you,  mysteries  of  evil  and 
misery  through  which  you  cannot  find  your  way  with  all 
your  thinking.  It  may  be  well  not  to  surrender  thought, 
but  to  rest  a  while  ;  and  there  is  no  better  rest  than  that 
of  quiet  fellowship  with  Christ  himself.  There  are  ques- 
tions which  are  solved,  not  by  hard  thinking,  but  by  prac- 
tical experience.  If  we  have  made  trial  of  Him  for  our 
own  sin  and  sorrow,  our  own  emptiness  and  unappeasable 
yearnings,  and  if  we  have  found  that  He  can  touch  our 
souls,  and  strengthen  and  comfort  them,  as  no  other  in  the 
world  can,  then  the  hard  sayings  which  offend  the  multi- 
tude will  not  separate  us  from  Him.  When  He  puts  the 
question,  as  He  did  shortly  afterwards,  "  Will  ye  also  go 
away  %  "  we  shall  reply,  like  those  disciples  who  had  rested 
with  Him  in  personal  fellowship,  "  Lord,  to  whom  shall 
we  go  %  Thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal  life  ;  and  we 
believe,  and  are  sure,  that  Thou  art  that  Christ,  the  Son 
of  the  living  God." 


THE  CHRISTIAN  USES  OF  LEISURE.  159 

There  are  these  three  elements  of  rest,  then,  provided 
for  those  who  are  able  to  gain  leisure — communion  with 
outward  nature,  true  human  fellowship,  and  closer  and 
simpler  access  to  Christ  himself.  It  will  be  understood 
that,  though  we  have  said  nothing  of  the  claims  of  the 
body  and  the  mind,  of  their  need  of  repose  and  recreation, 
or  of  change  and  stimulus,  we  are  very  far  from  wishing 
to  exclude  them.  God  knows  our  frame,  and  Christ  never 
deals  with  men  in  the  one-sided,  ascetic  way  which  a  false 
spiritualism  affects — an  extreme  which  in  all  ages  has 
produced  a  corresponding  recoil.  But  we  have  sought 
here  to  deal  with  the  use  to  which  leisure  should  be  put 
in  regard  to  our  spirit,  because,  if  this  is  attended  to,  all 
other  occupation  in  leisure  will  be  healthful  and  capable  of 
happy  reflection.  The  great  thing  for  us  is  to  have  a 
guiding  principle  directing  our  lives ;  or,  better  still,  an 
atmosphere  pervading  it,  that  shall  take  in  all  natural 
human  things,  and  extract  the  evil  and  leave  only  the 
good.  When  we  retire  for  a  time  from  the  turmoil  and 
perplexity  of  life,  we  might  learn  to  employ  our  leisure  in 
a  way  that  would  make  us  not  less  fit,  but  more,  for  the 
great  work  to  which  God  calls  us.  This  is  the  only  rest 
worthy  of  men  and  Christians ;  for  true  repose  is  to  be 
gained,  not  by  dissipating  thought  and  degrading  feeling, 
but  by  giving  them  true  salutary  employment — not  by 
sinking,  but  ascending.  The  higher  atmosphere  is  calmer 
as  well  as  purer ;  and  if  we  used  our  leisure  rightly  we 
might  go  down  again  into  the  hard  duties  of  life  like  strong 
men  reinforced  for  battle. 

Such  seasons  of  leisure,  let  it  be  observed,  are  not  the 
object  of  life.  They  are  given  to  those  who  have  been 
working,  and  given  to  them  that  they  may  work  again. 
"  Come  ye  apart  into  a  desert  place,  and  rest  a  ivhile."  The 
thronging  importunity  of  the  multitude  soon  broke  in  upon 


160  THE  CHRISTIAN  USES  OF  LEISURE. 

their  quiet,  and  called  them  to  fresh  exertions.  And 
though  we  had  no  command  from  Christ,  "  Son,  go  work 
to-day^  in  my  vineyard,"  and  no  such  words  as  "  Pray  ye 
therefore  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  that  He  would  thrust 
forth  labourers  into  his  harvest,"  yet  the  sight  of  the 
waiting  fields  all  around  might  well  break  our  repose. 
When  we  see  sin  and  misery  and  sorrow,  should  we  sit 
still — we  who  believe  we  have  the  healing  word  1  Be  sure 
that  those  only  have  a  right  to  a  season  of  rest,  and  those 
only  truly  enjoy  it,  who  have  done  real  work,  and  who 
mean  to  go  to  work  again.  This  world  is  not  for  enjoy- 
ment, not  even  for  self-culture  in  the  highest  things,  but 
for  taking  our  part  in  it  as  God's  fellow-workers,  and  as 
the  followers  of  his  Son  who  went  about  doing  good. 

I  know  that  there  are  some  to  whom  very  few,  if  any, 
such  seasons  of  outward  repose  are  granted — sons  and 
daughters  of  toil,  who  welcome  the  evening  as  "  a  servant 
earnestly  desireth  the  shadow " — who  say,  not  of  the 
Sabbath,  but  of  the  week,  "  When  shall  it  be  gone  I "  that 
they  may  give  out  of  their  one  day's  rest  much  work  for 
God  and  for  their  fellow-men.  They  have  quietly  toiled 
on,  I  know,  year  after  year,  bending  to  the  six  days'  burden, 
and  having  but  the  one  on  which  they  can  look  up  more 
calmly  heavenward,  and  look  abroad  and  do  their  deeds  of 
mercy.  They  have  little  experience  of  what  the  Christian 
poet  means — 

"The  calm  retreat,  the  silent  shade, 
With  prayer  and  praise  agree  ; 
And  seem  by  thy  sweet  bounty  made 
For  those  who  follow  Thee." 

Yet  God  can  make  the  light  of  that  one  sun  to  them  as 
the  light  of  seven ;  and  if  there  be  a  peculiar  heaven  of 
enjoyment  to  those  who  have  filled  up  Christ's   sufferings, 


THE  CHRISTIAN  USES  OF  LEISURE.  161 

there  will  be  one  of  special  rest  to  those  who  have  followed 
Him  in  his  patient  labours  of  love. 

Finally,  let  us  all  seek  to  feel  that  we  can  have  true 
tranquillity  of  spirit,  whether  in  work  or  retirement, 
only  through  a  heart  that  looks  trustfully  to  God  as  a 
reconciled  friend  That  perfect  peace  goes  everywhere  with 
the  man  whose  heart  is  stayed  on  God.  The  quiet  scenes 
of  nature  have  a  song  of  constant  joy  in  them  (Ps.  lxv. 
13),  and  the  wildest  tempests  a  voice  passing  through 
them — "  Peace,  be  still."  The  friendships  formed  within 
such  a  circle  have  a  depth  which  gives  the  pledge  of  their 
perpetuity,  and  they  begin  in  the  retired  spots  and  little 
companies  of  earth  to  be  perfected  in  the  gathering 
together  of  all  things  to  Christ.  The  heaviest  yoke  of 
labour  will  be  lightened,  and  the  solitary  place  be  made 
glad,  when  He  shares  them  with  us  who  can  give  even 
now  to  the  most  weary  and  heavy-laden  a,  foretaste  of  the 
very  rest  of  God, 


XL 

THE  ARK  TAKEN  AND  RETAKEN. 
LESSONS  FROM  AN  OLD  DEFEAT  AND  VICTORY. 

"And  the  Philistines  fought,  and  Israel  was  smitten,  and 
they  fled  every  man  into  his  tent ;  and  there  was  a  very 
great  slaughter ;  for  there  fell  of  Israel  thirty  thousand 
footmen.  And  the  ark  of  God  teas  taken;  and  the  two 
sons  of  Eli,  Hophni  and  Phinehas,  were  slain.'" — 1  Sam. 
iv.  10,  11. 

"  And  when  the  men  of  Ashdod  saiv  that  it  was  so,  they 
said,  The  ark  of  the  God  of  Israel  shall  not  abide  with  us  ; 
for  his  hand  is  sore  upon  us,  and  upon  Dagon  our  God." 
—1  Sam.  v.  7. 

"  So  David  and  all  the  house  of  Israel  brought  up  the 
ark  of  the  LORD  with  shouting,  and  toith  the  sound  of  the 
trumpet."— 2  Sam.  vi.  15. 

The  whole  of  this  history  which  gathers  round  the 
eapture  of  the  ark,  and  its  return  to  the  land  of  Israel  till 
it  found  a  home  in  Jerusalem,  is  of  very  great  interest. 
We  shall  not  try  to  give  even  a  summary  of  it,  but  shall 
ask  that  the  full  account  may  be  read  in  the  books  of 
First  and  Second  Samuel.  It  was  evidently  a  history 
which  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  minds  of  the 
Israelites.  It  found  its  way  into  their  worshij)  in  the 
78th  Psalm,  which  is  an  inspired  comment  on  it,  a  kind 
of  divine  illumination  traced  around  the  narrative  in  a 
series  of  pictures  which  bring  into  connection  with  it  the 
great  events  of  the  past  life  of  the  nation.  All  the  previous 
defections  and  disasters  are  called  up  and  explained,  and 
then   the   transference  of  the  ark  from   Shiloh  to  Mount 

lt>2 


THE  ARK  TAKEN  AND  RETAKEN.         163 

Zion  is  presented  as  the  beginning  of  a  new  and  brighter 
period  in  the  nation's  future.  Our  purpose  is  to  use  this 
part  of  the  sacred  history  for  a  lesson  to  ourselves,  and  we 
shall  do  so  under  two  points  of  view, — man's  declension 
leading  to  defeat,  and  God's  victory  calling  us  to  higher 
duty. 

I.  Let  us  first,  then,  look  at  the  connection  between 
declension  and  defeat.  At  the  root  of  the  calamity  which 
befell  the  nation  and  the  dishonour  to  the  cause  of  God, 
there  was  a  deep  moral  apostasy.  The  spiritual  condition 
of  the  people  had  never  sunk  lower,  from  their  abasement 
in  Egypt  to  their  captivity  in  Babylon,  than  at  this  time. 
The  character  of  the  priesthood  had  become  thoroughly 
corrupt,  and  this  is  one  of  the  most  ominous  signs  that 
can  appear  in  any  society.  They  turned  God's  ark  into  an 
instrument  of  selfish  speculation,  and  made  their  office  a 
means  of  gratifying  their  covetous  and  sensual  appetites. 
The  brief  description  given  of  them  is  very  powerful : 
"  The  sons  of  Eli  were  sons  of  Belial ;  their  sin  was  very 
great  before  the  Lord;  for  men  .abhorred  the  offering  of 
the  Lord."  And  yet  the  abhorrence  of  the  worshippers 
seems  to  have  proceeded  as  much  from  dislike  of  the 
rapacity  of  the  priests  as  from  the  recoil  of  conscience 
from  their  inconsistency.  The  priests  have  the  heaviest 
responsibility,  no  doubt,  but  sins  of  priest  and  people 
generally  go  hand  in  hand.  They  act  and  react  on  each 
other,  and  stage  by  stage  a  state  is  reached  where  con- 
science becomes  blind,  and  shame  is  cast  aside.  Then,  if 
there  is  to  be  recovery  at  all,  convulsion  is  not  far  away. 
There  is  not  perhaps  any  country  with  the  name  of 
Christian  where  such  a  condition  of  things  could  now  be 
long  borne.  A  growing  light  has  so  penetrated  the 
darkest  places  that  any  nominal  ministers  of  Christ  would 


164         THE  ARK  TAKEN  AND  RETAKEN. 

shrink  from  gross  and  open  immorality,  and  the  feeling 
of  men  would  rise  in  revolt.  So  much  we  have  gained 
since  Christianity  entered  the  world.  But  we  have  to 
remember  that  with  the  higher  light  we  have  higher 
responsibility.  Churches  and  ministers  with  a  very  decent 
exterior  may  be  standing  in  the  same  relative  position  as 
the  people  and  priesthood  in  this  olden  time.  We  may 
be  as  far  beneath  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  as  they  were 
beneath  the  commandments  of  Sinai.  If  ministers  put 
the  service  of  the  church  above  their  own  spiritual 
character,  if  they  look  upon  their  office  merely  as  a  means 
to  their  own  profit  and  comfort,  they  are  acting  in  the 
spirit  of  the  sons  of  Eli.  If  the  people  indulge  them  in 
this,  and  willingly  accept  indulgence  in  return,  then  the 
whole  tone  of  the  Church  of  Christ  is  lowered  to  self- 
seeking,  and  under  the  respectable  exterior  there  may  be 
a  hardness  and  selfishness  which  break  out  from  time  to 
time  into  overt  acts,  to  startle  us  and  give  us  warning.  We 
must  never  forget  that  the  great  test  of  all  religion  is  its 
moral  results.  Is  it  making  men  lead  higher,  purer,  more 
self-denying  lives  1  Is  our  Christianity  presenting  itself 
in  the  spirit  of  Christ  1  Are  ministers  following  the 
example  of  the  apostle  who  could  truly  say,  "  I  seek  not 
yours,  but  you,"  and  keeping  before  them  his  great 
Master  who  forgot  Himself  in  the  thought  of  God  and  for 
the  good  of  man  1  "  For  even  Christ  pleased  not  Him- 
self; but,  as  it  is  written,  The  reproaches  of  them  that 
reproached  Thee  fell  on  Me."  To  have  Church  and  land 
safe,  it  is  not  enough  to  be  free  from  the  profanations  which 
led  to  the  capture  of  the  ark ;  Ave  must  be  in  some  con- 
formity with  the  Christian  standard. 

There  was  another  feature  of  the  declension  of  the 
people  of  Israel  connected  with  this.  They  had  changed 
their  religion  into  a  formal  superstition.     After  their  first 


THE  ARK  TAKEN  AND  RETAKEN.         165 

defeat  by  the  Philistines  they  began  to  think  of  higher 
help.  But  it  was  not  of  God  they  thought,  the  living 
God,  but  only  of  his  ark.  "  Let  us  fetch  the  ark  of  the 
covenant,  that  it  may  save  us  out  of  the  hand  of  our 
enemies."  And  like  all  men  when  reality  begins  to  fail, 
they  are  great  in  lofty  phrases — "  The  ark  of  the  covenant 
of  the  Lord  of  hosts  which  dwelleth  between  the  cherubim." 
How  far  they  are  away  from  those  who  saw  "  the  goings 
of  their  God  and  king  in  his  sanctuary,  and  his  glorious 
marching  through  the  wilderness  "  !  It  is  evident  that  the 
ark  has  been  changed  into  a  fetish  ;  the  name  of  it  is  to  be 
their  deliverer ;  and  He  who  passed  in  cloud  and  fire 
through  the  sea,  who  "  rideth  upon  the  heavens  of  heavens 
of  old,"  is  to  be  shut  up  in  that  chest  to  be  carried  hither 
and  thither  in  the  hands  of  priests,  foul  with  avarice  and 
pollution.  When  religion  comes  to  this  it  sinks  into  a 
hideous  idol,  and  the  petrified  shell  must  be  broken  in 
pieces  if  the  spirit  is  to  be  saved.  It  is  the  natural  result 
of  the  corruption  of  the  word  of  life.  Whenever  religion 
loses  its  hold  of  the  conscience  and  the  character,  it  loses 
all  real  meaning.  It  leaves  the  heart  and  becomes  a  thing 
of  the  hands,  while  the  soul  of  it  dies. 

So  it  was  with  the  Pharisees  in  the  time  of  our  Lord. 
They  made  broad  phylacteries  with  texts  on  them,  and 
washed  cups  and  plates,  and  made  much  of  tithing  little 
things,  and  then  religion  ascended  a  cross  and  hid  itself 
in  a  grave.  And  then  came  the  time  in  the  Christian 
Church  when  a  small  piece  of  the  wood  of  that  cross  was 
put  for  Him  who  suffered  on  it,  and  a  fragment  of  his 
dress  coveted  more  than  his  spirit,  and  his  gospel  covered 
with  embroideries  and  ribbons  till  its  meaning  was  hidden 
under  its  many-coloured  vestments.  How  deep  it  is  in 
human  nature  to  put  the  letter  for  the  life !  And  when 
we    take    the    Bible    into    our    hand    and    call   ourselves 


166        THE  ARK  TAKEN  AND  RETAKEN. 

evangelical  Christians  we  are  not  safe  from  this  same 
danger.  It  is  quite  possible  to  possess  an  orthodox  creed 
and  put  it  in  place  of  a  true,  unselfish  life,  to  hold  fast  by 
our  Bibles,  and  make  the  having  them  and  reading  them  a 
charm,  as  truly  as  did  the  Israelites  with  the  ark  of  Shiloh. 
There  comes  perhaps  a  great  quickening  of  religious  life 
to  the  Church  of  Christ,  an  evangelical  revival.  The 
gospel  is  preached  with  earnestness  and  fervour  by  lips 
touched  with  a  live  coal  from  God's  altar,  and  men  listen 
to  it  as  if  the  angels  were  singing  for  the  first  time  in 
human  hearing,  "Behold,  we  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great 
joy  which  shall  be  to  all  people."  It  is  a  message  of  love 
and  power,  and  those  who  can  remember  such  a  season 
look  back  on  it  as  a  "  visit  of  the  day  spring  from  on  high, 
through  the  tender  mercy  of  God."  But  in  time  it  loses 
its  efficacy.  The  same  truth  is  preached,  the  very  same 
words  are  used,  but  they  have  passed  into  a  formula  which 
glides  over  the  tongue  of  the  speaker,  and  falls  on  the 
ears  of  the  hearers  without  any  movement  of  the  heart,  or 
perhaps  any  distinct  significance  to  the  mind.  The  fresh- 
ness and  fervour,  the  solemn  awe  which  stirred  and  bent 
to  submission  the  souls  of  thousands,  have  gone,  and 
bequeathed  only  phrases  of  doctrine  which  have  ceased  to 
work  any  deliverance.  When  such  times  of  depression 
come  to  the  Church  of  Christ,  it  will  generally  be  found 
that  the  truth  of  God  has  been  held  in  unrighteousness. 
The  revival  of  Christian  doctrine  will  ere  long  lose  its 
power,  unless  it  lead  to  a  corresponding  revival  of  Christian 
life.  The  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God  may  not  be  turned 
to  lasciviousness,  but  it  may  be  suffered  to  sink  into  self- 
indulgence,  into  a  mere  desire  to  escape  from  fear  here 
and  suffering  hereafter.  The  Gospel  gives  this,  but  if  we 
are  to  retain  it  in  its  power  we  must  receive  from  it  far 
more.      It  must  make   us  willing  to   court   suffering,   to 


THE  ARK  TAKEN  AND  RETAKEN.         167 

meet  self-denial  for  noble  ends,  and  to  forget  self  for  the 
cause  of  God,  and  for  the  good  of  man.  This  was  the 
Christianity  of  Christ,  and  this  must  be  ours  if  it  is  to 
continue  with  us.  But  when  men  wish  to  have  a  gospel 
which  stops  short  of  the  cross,  or  which  makes  Christ 
bear  it  that  they  may  have  nothing  but  comfort ;  when 
they  look  on  God's  mercy  as,  in  its  beginning  and  end, 
only  a  passport  to  heaven,  they  have  turned  the  glory  of 
God's  sanctuary  into  the  wood  of  the  ark,  and  are  near 
delivering  it  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

Now,  there  is  a  further  stage  in  the  ark's  history  before 
it  reaches  its  lowest  fall.  It  has  been  dissociated  from  the 
living  God,  and  has  become  not  merely  a  common  but  a 
desecrated  thing.  To  redeem  the  Israelites  from  their 
error,  they  must  learn  that  the  ark  is  powerless  if  God 
forsakes  them,  and  that  the  symbol  cannot  save  without 
the  living  presence.  In  this  stern  lesson  God  uses  their 
enemies  as  teachers.  We  cannot  help  admiring  the 
patriotic  spirit  of  the  Philistines,  their  manly  courage,  and 
love  of  freedom.  The  Bible  is  a  broad  book,  and  just  to 
what  may  be  called  natural  human  virtues.  At  first,  when 
they  heard  the  shout  that  welcomed  the  ark  to  the  Israelite 
camp,  they  were  struck  with  fear.  They  remembered  the 
history  they  had  heard  of  its  God,  and  said,  "  God  is  come 
into  the  camp."  But  Jehovah  was  to  them  only  one  out 
of  many  deities  of  the  nations  ;  the  conduct  of  his  wor- 
shippers had  not  filled  them  with  high  regard,  and  the 
blood  of  patriots  and  freemen  is  in  their  words  :  "  Be 
strong,  and  quit  yourselves  like  men,  0  ye  Philistines, 
that  ye  be  not  servants  unto  the  Hebrews,  as  they  have 
been  to  you;  quit  yourselves,  like  men,  and  fight."  This 
has  the  ring  of  an  old  battle-song,  and  it  may  have 
been  such,  one  of  the  utterances  of  fire  which  have  made 
hearts  swell  and  swords  flash  in  many  lauds  over  the  world, 


168         THE  ARK  TAKEN  AND  RETAKEN. 

and  not  least  in  our  own.  "  Ah,  freedom  is  a  noble  thing," 
begins  the  story  of  the  patriot  king  of  our  country  by  a 
poet  centuries  ago,  and  we  must  be  permitted  to  sympathise 
with  men  who  were  ready  to  face  the  Hebrews  and  their 
gods,  as  they  reckoned  them,  that  they  might  be  free.  In 
this  case  the  Philistines  were  on  the  better  side.  It  was 
not  man  against  God,  but  man  against  falsehood  under 
his  name ;  and  the  battle  ended  as  one  might  anticipate. 
"  The  Philistines  fought,  and  Israel  was  smitten,  and  the 
ark  of  God  was  taken."  Natural  human  courage  proved 
itself  stronger  than  corrupted  religion,  and  hypocrisy  was 
broken  and  scattered.  No  doubt  the  Philistines  imagined 
they  had  vanquished  Israel's  God,  and  some  of  his  sin- 
cere but  short-sighted  friends  thought  the  cause  of  religion 
lost,  but  the  victory  was  for  God  and  truth. 

The  history  of  this  battle  has  been  often  repeated.  It 
was  another  form  of  it  when  the  King  of  Babylon  carried 
away  the  sacred  vessels  of  the  temple  to  have  them  made 
drinking-cups  at  his  boastful  feasts ;  when  the  temple 
itself  was  laid  in  ruins,  and  the  prophet  bewailed  the  holy 
and  beautiful  house  which  was  burnt  up  with  fire  ;  Titus 
was  repeating  it  when  he  destroyed  the  Jewish  State,  and 
carried  the  seven-branched  candlestick  in  triumph  to  the 
Capitol ;  Mohammed,  when  the  decayed  churches  of  the 
East  were  trampled  down  beneath  the  feet  of  his  fierce  horse- 
men ;  and  the  French  Eevolution,  when  its  cry  for  human 
liberty  shook  and  is  shaking  the  despotism  of  the  church 
of  Rome.  "  The  corruption  of  the  best  thing  becomes  the 
worst,"  and  life,  in  some  lower  form,  rises  and  overthrows 
what  has  lost  its  spirit,  though  it  may  still  bear  a  higher 
name.  We  may  think  that  catastrophes  like  these  are 
very  far  from  our  own  country,  and  from  the  churches  of 
God  among  us,  but  there  may  be  a  slow  decay  which 
brings  about    the  same  end.     Unless  we    can    raise    our 


THE  ARK  TAKEN  AND  RETAKEN.         169 

Christian  life  in  some  measure  up  to  our  profession,  and 
make  it  higher  than  the  natural  virtues  which  are  found 
outside  the  Church,  we  shall  suffer  defeat  in  point  after 
point,  which  shall  bring  on  us  serious  detriment.  If,  for 
example,  dishonesty  and  faithlessness  to  engagements  be 
permitted  among  us,  which  would  not  be  suffered  in  the 
common  walks  of  life,  we  cannot  maintain  our  place  as 
the  guardians  of  righteousness.  If  we  are  surpassed  by 
men  who  have  no  regard  for  Jesus  Christ  in  patient, 
self-denying  work  for  the  redress  of  wrong  and  the  relief 
of  suffering,  we  cannot  claim  to  lead  the  way  as  friends  of 
humanity.  If  men  of  science  show  an  unwearied  love  in 
the  study  of  nature,  an  enthusiasm  in  gathering  stores  of 
knowledge  from  earth  and  sea  and  sky,  and  a  skilfulncss 
in  applying  them  to  practical  use,  while  we  are  indifferent 
and  inert  in  the  pursuit  of  spiritual  truths,  careless  about 
the  hidden  treasures  of  wisdom  which  cast  light  on  the 
ways  of  God  and  meet  the  wants  of  souls,  we  shall  not 
inspire  confidence  in  our  sincerity,  or  give  men  much 
interest  in  the  contents  of  God's  Word  and  the  work  of 
Christ's  Church.  The  question  which  will  condemn  us 
may  be,  What  do  ye  more  than  others  %  or  even,  What  do 
ye  equal  to  others  1  The  world  is  ready  to  judge  a  cause 
by  the  spirit  it  creates  and  the  fruit  it  produces,  and  if 
we  do  not  surround  the  ark  of  God  with  all  the  things  that 
have  virtue  and  praise  of  which  the  apostle  speaks,  if  we 
do  not  let  the  hidden  light  which  is  in  it  shine  out  through 
our  character  and  work,  men  will  not  believe  in  us,  and 
may  come  to  treat  it  with  contempt.  There  may  be  no 
sudden  disaster,  but  it  may  be  passed  by  for  more  palpable 
and  active  interests,  the  name  Ichabod  may  be  written  on 
it  slowly,  letter  by  letter,  and  it  may  fall  into  a  neglect  as 
saddening  as  would  be  its  captivity  in  the  hand  of  an 
enemy.     There  are  lands  where  this  has  happened,  and 


170         THE  AEK  TAKEN  AND  RETAKEN. 

should  it  ever  befall  us  it  may  take  long  to  repair  the 
loss. 


II.  We  come  to  the  other  side  of  the  subject,  God's 
victory.  The  Philistines  carry  the  captive  ark  in  triumph 
to  Ashdod,  their  capital,  and  set  it  up  as  a  trophy  in  the 
house  of  Dagon  their  god.  But  the  ark,  which  could  not 
be  defended  by  great  armies,  and  round  which  thirty 
thousand  men  fell  in  vain,  showed  the  power  of  the  God 
of  Israel  when  it  was  alone  and  in  exile.  Dagon  fell  pro- 
strate before  it,  and  when  the  priests  set  up  their  idol 
again  it  brought  on  it  a  heavier  ruin.  Disease  spread 
through  their  coasts,  and  they  began  to  feel  that  they  were 
in  conflict  with  a  mysterious  power,  though  they  were  slow 
to  admit  their  weakness.  They  carry  the  ark  from  place 
to  place,  with  the  idea  that  change  of  circumstances  will 
bring  the  balance  once  more  to  their  side.  For  Ashdod  they 
try  Gath,  and  for  Gath,  Ekron,  but  with  the  same  result, 
till  priests  and  diviners,  though  they  do  not  acknow- 
ledge Jehovah's  supremacy,  own  their  perplexity  and 
defeat ;  and  the  ark,  so  late  their  trophy,  is  sent  back  with 
propitiatory  gifts  to  the  land  of  Israel.  This  is  a  lesson 
which  the  world  needs  to  learn,  and  which  God  wrought 
out  in  his  own  way  long  ago,  and  has  recorded  that  men 
may  read  and  ponder  it.  It  is  that  when  they  think  they 
have  gained  a  victory  over  God  they  are  on  the  edge  of  a 
sore  disaster.  What  to  do  with  God  is  the  world's  great 
trial,  as  what  to  do  with  Jesus  was  the  difficulty  of  Pilate, 
"  What  shall  I  do  then  with  Jesus  which  is  called  Christ  ] " 
For  the  world  cannot  make  God  to  its  mind,  and  in  the 
end  the  world  cannot  do  without  Him.  It  carries  his 
ark  hither  and  thither,  seeks  to  bring  Him  to  the  level  of 
its  own  conceptions,  to  subject  Him  to  its  own  idols, 
but  finds  in  all  its  efforts  no  true  rest  till  it  suffers  Him 


THE  ARK  TAKEN  AND  RETAKEN.  171 

to  take  his  own  way  to  his  throne,  from  which  in  his  own 
time  He  shall  make  good  his  word  by  still  higher  victories 
— "  Over  Philistia  will  I  triumph."  We  are  still  in  the 
midst  of  this  history,  but  we  have  reached  a  wider  phase 
of  it.  We  see  it  now  more  frequently,  not  in  the  attempt 
to  put  Dagon  above  the  God  of  heaven,  but  to  put  man 
above  Him.  Man — his  own  divinity,  with  neither  ark 
nor  altar,  God  nor  immortality,  is  the  last  form  in  which 
the  trial  of  strength  is  being  carried  on.  There  can  be  no 
other  beyond  it.  But  the  result  in  Ashdod  shall  work 
itself  out  once  more,  although  the  process  may  be  longer. 
Man  cannot  stand  without  God  any  more  than  against 
Him ;  time  after  time  this  self- worship  will  be  defeated, 
and  sifting  trials  and  pains  will  overtake  those  who  follow 
it.  As  there  can  be  no  true  religion  without  morality,  so 
there  can  be  no  permanent  morality  without  religion,  and 
without  morality  no  possible  society  among  men.  All 
civilisations  have  fallen  to  pieces  as  they  lost  their  faith  in 
the  Highest,  even  though  that  faith  had  much  alloy.  The 
world  cannot  revolve  unless  it  is  held  by  something  out- 
side itself.  This  has  been  verified  again  and  again  in 
what  we  call  Christian  lands.  When  the  supreme  Judge 
has  been  driven  from  his  place  in  the  soul,  conscience 
reels  to  and  fro  and  is  at  its  wit's  end.  Men  theorise  it 
into  a  thing  of  natural  growth  which  some  will  call  a 
flower,  and  some  a  weed.  And  then  come  the  rivalries 
and  rancours,  the  sensualities  and  hates  which  are  unap- 
peasable, because  the  time  is  short,  and  there  is  nothing 
more.  Ah  !  but  Ave  shall  educate  men  to  sweet  reason, 
and  train  them  up  in  morality,  and  teach  them  to  moderate 
their  passions,  and  the  planet  will  all  the  while  be  rolling 
round  into  new  regions  of  light !  Fools  and  blind !  You 
will  educate  human  reason  by  denying  the  reason  that  is 
supreme  ;  you  will  train  in  morals  while  you  cut  the  roots 


172         THE  ARK  TAKEN  AND  RETAKEN. 

of  conscience  and  plant  its  empty  stalk  in  sand ;  you  will 
moderate  passion  by  giving  it  the  present  and  earthly  for 
its  portion,  and  you  will  have  the  world  roll  into  light 
when  you  have  quenched  its  sun  !  Men  must  come  at 
last  to  perceive  this,  if  not  by  the  sunlight  of  God's  good- 
ness yet  by  the  fire  of  his  judgments,  for  He  retains  his 
hold  of  the  world  though  the  world  may  lose  its  hold  of 
Him.  And  there  are  tokens  that  such  seasons  are  coming. 
When  atheism  opens  the  gulf  of  anarchy,  and  the  founda- 
tions of  the  earth  are  out  of  course,  men  begin  to  recoil, 
and  look  to  religion  as  a  safeguard.  After  the  first  French 
Revolution  this  reaction  set  in,  and  we  see  signs  of  it 
again  in  our  day.  We  may  be  glad  of  it  as  a  confession 
and  a  preparation  ;  but  true  homage  to  God  cannot  come 
from  this  motive.  The  diviners  may  make  their  new  cart 
for  the  ark,  and  put  their  jewels  of  gold  in  a  coffer  by  its 
side,  but  after  all  they  send  the  ark  away  ;  and  if  we  take 
to  honouring  God,  only  from  motives  of  policy,  and  in 
order  to  escape  some  threatened  evils,  it  is  the  same  as 
rejecting  Him.  In  whatever  way  God  may  overrule  the 
times  "  when  men's  hearts  are  failing  them  for  fear,  look- 
ing for  those  things  which  are  coming  on  the  earth,"  the 
only  obedience  which  He  accepts  is  that  which  is  given 
Him  out  of  love,  and  for  his  own  sake. 

This  brings  us  to  the  last  remark,  that  if  the  ark  of  God 
is  to  find  its  true  place  it  must  be  committed  to  the  hands 
of  men  who  love  it.  Men  who  have  no  real  faith  in  it 
may  be  made  instruments  in  God's  providence  of  showing 
its  powers,  even  by  their  extorted  acknowledgments ;  but 
if  it  is  to  reach  its  throne  it  must  be  set  within  the  border 
of  its  own  land,  and  be  borne  from  house  to  house  and 
village  to  village  till  it  gains  Jerusalem.  Even  the  God 
of  the  ark  will  not  carry  it  to  its  end  without  human 
agency.     He  vindicates  his  honour  when   it  is  all  alone, 


THE  ARK  TAKEN  AND  RETAKEN.         173 

redeems  it  from  the  enemy,  transfers  it  to  its  own  domain, 
and  commits  it  to  the  care  of  its  friends.  We  may  call  all 
this  a  type  if  we  will,  and  so  it  is,  if  by  a  type  be  meant  an 
illustration  of  the  way  in  which  God  is  accustomed  to  have 
his  work  done.  There  are  some  things  which  men  cannot 
do  for  themselves,  and  God  performs  them ;  but  there  are 
others  where  they  can  work  for  Him,  He  all  the  while 
working  in  them,  and  in  these  it  is  their  privilege  and 
their  profit  to  be  God's  fellow-workers.  He  takes  them 
to  the  brink  of  the  Eed  Sea,  bids  them  stand  still,  opens 
its  waters,  and  then  afterwards  the  march  through  the 
wilderness  is  their  share.  He  prepares  the  cross  of  Christ, 
rescues  it  from  the  weakness  and  shame  which  men  ascribed 
to  it,  fills  it  with  divine  power  and  love,  and  then  puts  it 
into  the  hands  of  its  friends  that  it  may  move  on  its  way 
to  its  final  conquest.  That  cross  is  our  ark  of  the  cove- 
nant, and  in  the  joy  that  welcomed  it  to  Jerusalem,  when 
"  David  and  all  the  house  of  Israel  brought  up  the  ark  of 
the  Lord  with  shouting  and  with  the  sound  of  the  trumpet," 
we  seem  to  catch  far  off  the  anticipation  of  that  time  when 
"  the  temple  of  God  shall  be  opened  in  heaven,  and  there 
is  seen  in  it  the  ark  of  his  testament :  and  there  were 
great  voices  in  heaven,  saying,  The  kingdoms  of  this  world 
are  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord,  and  of  his  Christ ; 
and  He  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever  "  (Kev.  xi.). 

And  so  let  us,  in  closing,  gather  up  the  spirit  of  the 
history  as  it  applies  to  ourselves.  We  need  never  despair 
of  the  cause  of  God  ;  it  has  had  its  defeats  where  all  seemed 
lost,  but  every  defeat  has  been  the  herald  of  a  new  victory 
and  of  a  higher  rise.  From  Shiloh  to  the  house  of  Dagon  ; 
but  thence  to  Jerusalem  to  put  on  more  spiritual  beauty,  and 
to  be  surrounded  with  those  songs  which  go  deep  into  Chris- 
tian hearts.  Let  us  not  faint  at  its  many  vicissitudes.  The 
history  of  the  Church  of  Christ  has  been  the  history  of  the 


174        THE  ARK  TAKEN  AND  RETAKEN. 

ark,  lost  in  many  a  battle,  covered  with  many  a  cloud, 
spitefully  entreated  by  many  an  enemy,  forgotten  often  in 
its  own  land  when  it  has  been  expelled  by  the  stranger, 
but  having  the  record  of  one  of  its  heroes  for  its  own 
watchword,  "  persecuted  but  not  forsaken ;  cast  down  but 
not  destroyed  ;  as  chastened  and  not  killed," — going  on  all 
the  while  from  strength  to  strength,  if  we  read  its  record 
not  by  man's  days  but  by  God's  years.  The  days  some- 
times indicate  decline  and  defeat,  the  years  tell  of  widening 
circles  and  growing  power.  On  which  of  the  slopes  are 
we  at  present  placed  ?  Are  we  going  down,  it  may  be,  to 
some  reverse,  or  upward  to  a  higher  position  %  Is  the  art 
meanwhile  on  its  way  to  temporary  capture,  or  has  a  new 
movement  begun  toward  a  lasting  home  1  It  would  take 
a  long  survey  to  speak  of  this,  and  there  would  be  among 
Christian  men  conflicting  judgments,  but  our  duty  in 
either  case  is  clear  and  urgent.  It  is  to  surround  it  with 
high  lives  and  sincere  hearts  when  it  goes  out  to  its  battle 
with  the  world,  "by  pureness,  by  knowledge,  by  long- 
suffering,  by  kindness,  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  love  un- 
feigned, by  the  word  of  truth,  by  the  armour  of  righteous- 
ness on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left;"  in  these  we 
shall  ward  off  every  danger.  And  if  we  are  still  under 
the  impulse  of  one  of  God's  past  victories,  if  God  has 
turned  our  captivity,  we  should  lament  for  it  when  it 
seems  to  be  abiding  long  in  one  place,  we  should  give  it 
room  in  our  houses,  that  we  may  be  blessed  like  Obed- 
edom  because  of  it,  seek  it  out  from  obscurities  like  the 
"  fields  of  the  wood,"  bring  it  into  the  open  highways  of 
life,  give  no  sleep  to  our  eyes,  no  slumber  to  our  eyelids, 
till  we  find  habitations  for  it,  where  it  may  rule  and  bless 
men  with  a  wider  empire  and  greater  gladness.  God  has 
given  us  a  view  of  its  past  and  its  future  beyond  all 
measure  clearer  and  larger  than  could  be  possessed  by  the 


THE  ARK  TAKEN  AND  RETAKEN.         175 

men  of  this  ancient  period  of  its  history.  We  may  still 
have  surgings  to  and  fro,  decline  and  rise,  defeat  and 
victory,  but  each  time  to  something  better,  and  the  last 
time  to  a  final  and  central  home,  and  a  universal  kingdom. 
With  loftier  purpose,  then,  should  we  survey  the  future, 
with  deeper  personal  interest  should  we  claim  a  share 
in  it!  "Arise,  0  Lord,  into  thy  rest;  Thou,  and  the 
ark  of  thy  strength  ! "  "I  will  make  mention  of  Rahab 
and  Babylon  to  them  that  know  me  :  behold  Philistia,  and 
Tyre,  with  Ethiopia ;  this  man  was  born  there.  And  of 
Zion  it  shall  be  said,  This  and  that  man  was  born  in  her : 
and  the  Highest  himself  shall  establish  her,— all  my 
springs  are  in  Thee." 


XII. 

THE  CRY  OF  THE  ORPHANED  HEART. 

(FOR  A  COMMUNION.) 

"Doubtless  Thou  art  our  Father." — Isaiah  lxiii.  16. 

If  this  chapter  is  read,  it  will  be  seen  that  these  words 
came  from  the  heart  of  the  Jewish  people  when  they  felt 
themselves  "  aliens  from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  and 
strangers  to  the  covenants  of  promise."  They  had  wan- 
dered from  the  God  of  their  fathers,  and  they  feel  as 
if  their  fathers  had  cast  them  off.  If  Abraham  were  to 
appear  on  earth,  he  would  not  know  them  ;  if  Jacob  were 
to  return,  he  would  not  acknowledge  them ;  and  what  then 
can  they  do  1  They  cannot  endure  life,  cannot  bear  the 
burden  of  its  sorrows  and  struggles  without  a  father  and  a 
friend.  What  can  they  do  but  pass  up  beyond  men,  and 
seek  a  father  in  God  1  Their  heart  is  an  orphan  every- 
where else,  and  is  forced  to  this  door  of  refuge — "  Doubt- 
less Thou — Thou  art  our  Father."  It  is  thousands  of 
years  since  this  cry  was  uttered,  but  it  has  never  died 
out,  and  it  is  present  still  in  many  a  spirit.  Let  us 
listen  to  it,  and  think  of  some  of  the  things  which  it 
suggests. 

1.  The  words  express  a  deep  longing  of  the  human  heart. 
With  all  its  folly  and  frivolity  and  sin,  the  heart  of  man 
has  been  made  to  feel  after  these  words  :  "  Our  Father — 
our  Father  which  art  in  heaven."     The  lower   creatures 

176 


THE  CRY  OF  THE  ORPHANED  HEART.       177 

have  not  this  cry,  because  they  have  not  our  wants,  our 
aspirations,  or  the  possibility  of  our  hopes.  God  opens 
his  hand,  and  casts  down  their  food,  and  they  look  down 
for  it ;  but  there  is  something  within  man's  heart  which 
bids  him  look  up  and  see  God's  hand,  and  seek  from  it 
something  higher.  "  Your  heavenly  Father  feedeth  them  f 
their  Provider  is  your  Father.  There  are  wonderful 
instincts  among  them — most  wonderful  often  in  the  most 
minute.  The  bees  and  ants  have  their  policy,  their 
regulated  industry,  we  might  almost  say  their  civilisation. 
But  what  curious  microscope  ever  discovered  among  them 
a  spire  pointing  heavenward,  or  tokens  of  prayer  and 
praise  1  The  magnet  which  is  passed  over  the  earth  to 
draw  things  upward  finds  nothing  in  this  world  which 
trembles  and  turns  to  it  save  the  human  heart.  It  is  very 
true  that  many  hearts  make  little  visible  response,  and 
seem  to  bear  the  want  of  a  heavenly  Father  very  lightly. 
But  even  in  them  there  may  be  discerned  the  heart-hunger 
that  shows  itself  in  unnatural  cravings  which  the  lower 
creatures  do  not  feel.  The  void  may  be  discovered  in  the 
restless  attempts  men  make  to  fill  it.  It  is  true  also  that 
there  are  times  when  the  evil  fumes  of  material  sin  deaden 
the  hearts  of  men  of  whom  we  could  wish  better  things. 
But,  when  we  look  at  the  length  and  breadth  of  man's 
history,  it  tells  us  that  this  cry  constantly  returns,  some- 
times exceedingly  great  and  bitter,  sometimes  sinking  to  a 
low  moan  or  a  suppressed  whisper,  "  0  that  I  knew  where 
I  might  find  Him  !  "  There  have  been  men  in  all  ages  to 
whom  the  answer  of  this  cry  has  been  the  one  necessity  of 
life,  and  if  you  could  convince  them  that  it  is  impossible 
to  find  a  heavenly  Father  they  would  smile  no  more. 
Good  were  it  for  us,  good  for  all  of  us,  that  we  had  never 
been  born.  Better  never  enter  the  world,  than  find  it  a 
world  without  God  and  without  hope. 

M 


178       THE  CRY  OF  THE  ORPHANED  HEART. 

2.  And  yet  it  is  often  difficult  to  speak  these  icords  with 
full  assurance.  The  struggle  to  reach  them  is  evident  in 
the  men  who  use  them  here,  and  is  felt  in  the  very  word 
"doubtless,"  with  which  they  begin  their  claim.  When  a 
man  says,  '  Surely,  surely,  it  must  be  so,'  he  shows  how 
hard  it  has  been  for  him  to  make  the  truth  his  own.  We 
may  appeal  to  many  still  if  it  is  not  so.  You  will  say,  '  I 
long  for  it,  I  will  not  give  up  the  hope  of  reaching  it — no, 
not  for  all  the  world.  I  think  I  can  sometimes  look  up 
and  truly  say  it ;  but  to  have  it  as  a  clear  and  constant 
possession  of  the  soul,  this  is  very  difficult.  Would  that  I 
had  always  a  cloudless  spiritual  sky  above  me  when  I  look 
to  God  !  Doubtless  Thou  art  our  Father.'  It  would 
take  long  to  number  up  all  the  difficulties,  but  we  shall 
mention  some.  There  is  one,  which  belongs  specially  to 
our  time,  in  the  mind  of  man  as  it  deals  with  the  universe 
and  its  laws.  There  is  a  form  of  science  which  says,  '  I 
have  ranged  the  world,  and  there  is  nothing  in  it  but 
material  law,  iron  links  riveted,  each  to  each,  so  fast  that 
prayer  can  never  pass  up  through  them,  or  the  hand  of  a 
heavenly  Helper  come  down.  I  sound  the  depths,  I  scale 
the  heights,  and  there  is  no  door  or  window,  not  a  chink 
or  eyelet-opening  through  which  a  Father  can  be  seen. 
There  may  be  a  heart  in  man,  but  there  is  no  heart  beyond 
to  answer  it  j  or,  if  there  be,  the  heart  of  man  can  never 
reach  it.'  Let  us  thank  God  that  it  is  not  all  science,  nor 
the  clearest-eyed,  that  speaks  thus  ;  but  the  voice  is  loud 
enough  to  fill  some  with  fear.  And,  besides  the  mind,  the 
heart  finds  difficulties  in  itself.  There  are  so  many  things 
in  life  which  make  it  hard  to  believe  in  the  love  of  God. 
There  are  the  losses  and  crosses,  sore  bereavements,  terrible 
agonies  of  doubt  and  spiritual  darkness,  from  which  God 
could  surely  keep  us  free.  We  say  with  the  man  in  the 
goppels,   "  Lord,  if  Thou  wilt,  Thou  eanst."     It  is  not  want 


THE  CRY  OF  THE  ORPHANED  HEART.       179 

of  power ;  is  it  then  want  of  will  1  Can  it  be  true 
that  "  like  as  a  father  pitieth  his  children,  so  the  Lord 
pitieth  them  that  fear  Him  "  1  It  is  easy,  very  easy,  when 
the  sea  is  smooth,  and  the  ship  in  full  sail,  to  talk  in  a 
general  way  of  the  Fatherhood  of  God ;  but  when  gulfs 
are  yawning,  and  cries  of  drowning  men  are  around,  and 
deep  answers  to  deep  in  our  own  soul,  then  to  say,  "  Thou 
art  our  Father,"  does  not  come  so  readily  to  the  lip.  And 
still  beyond  the  mind  and  heart  there  is  the  conscience. 
When  we  think  of  a  Father  in  heaven,  we  must  think  of 
a  righteous  Father,  of  one  "  who  is  of  purer  eyes  than  to 
behold  iniquity."  The  weak,  indulgent  fatherhood,  which 
is  passed  so  lightly  from  hand  to  hand,  will  not  fit  into 
the  parts  of  the  world's  history  which  show  the  terrible 
penalties  of  sin ;  it  will  not  satisfy  the  soul  when  it  is 
brought  face  to  face  with  the  majesty  of  God's  law  and  the 
holiness  of  his  character.  When  I  look  within,  I  may 
please  myself  in  comparisons  with  others,  or  in  little  com- 
placencies of  my  own  temperament ;  but  should  the  Spirit 
of  God  lead  me  into  his  presence,  can  I  help  feeling  how 
I  have  defaced  his  image,  and  given  over  to  the  vainest 
and  basest  things  the  love  which  belonged  to  Him  alone, — 
how  I  have  dethroned  Him  from  his  place,  and  put  up  too 
often  the  most  unworthy  idols  in  his  room  1  It  would 
be  very  ill  for  us  if  we  could  take  all  this  with  a  light  heart, 
and  imagine  that  if  we  frame  our  mouth  to  the  word 
"  Father,"  it  will  cover  all.  The  conscience,  when  stirred, 
forces  a  man  to  a  harder  struggle. 

3.  But,  with  all  these  difficulties,  it  is  a  feeling  which 
can  he  and  has  been  reached.  Yes,  it  can  be  reached.  We 
could  never  believe  that  such  a  deep  longing  had  been 
implanted  in  man,  to  be  for  ever  unanswered — a  cry 
pressed  from  his  heart  to  be  mocked  with  endless  disap- 
pointment.    If  a  man  cannot  trust  in  a  God  for  this,  he 


180       THE  CRY  OF  THE  ORPHANED  HEART. 

might  in  some  ways  find  hope  in  the  structure  of  the 
universe,  and  infer  that  the  most  profound  cry  of  the  heart 
shall  have  something  to  meet  it.  And  it  has  been  reached. 
In  view  of  all  the  difficulties  of  mind  and  heart  and 
conscience,  there  have  been  men  who  could  look  up  and 
say,  "  Doubtless  Thou  art  our  Father."  They  have  said 
it  not  only  in  sunshine  but  in  storm  and  in  the  shadow  of 
death ;  have  given  up  their  lives,  that  they  might  testify 
to  it  clearly  and  fearlessly  j  and  have  shut  the  door,  and 
said  it  to  their  Father  who  seeth  in  secret,  that  they  might 
not  seek  the  praise  of  men.  Those  who  have  been  able 
to  say  it  in  times  past  have  been  more  than  the  stars  of 
the  sky  for  multitude;  and  let  us  bless  God  they  are 
round  us  yet,  in  duty  and  trial,  in  the  world's  work,  and 
on  solitary  sick-beds,  doing  their  Father's  will,  and  bear- 
ing it. 

But  we  are  here  to  think  of  One,  the  greatest  of  all. 
Even  those  who  take  the  lowest  view  of  Jesus  Christ  will 
admit  that  He,  beyond  all  others,  taught  men  to  think  of 
God  as  a  Father,  and  gave  the  example  of  it  in  his  own 
life  and  death.  How  strong  it  made  Him,  and  how 
patient,  how  active  in  doing  good,  how  comforted  in  soli- 
tude, that  his  Father  had  sent  Him,  and  was  present  with 
Him,  putting  the  cup  of  suffering  into  his  hand,  and  ready 
to  receive  Him  when  He  said,  "  Father,  into  thy  hands  I 
commend  my  spirit !  "  But  his  example,  his  influence, 
wonderful  as  they  are,  would  not  enable  us  to  follow  Him 
to  God  as  a  Father,  unless  there  was  something  in  his 
death  which  laid  hold  of  us  with  stronger  power.  It 
behoved  Him  to  be  made  like  unto  his  brethren,  to  make 
reconciliation  for  the  sins  of  the  people.  He  drank  the 
cup  we  deserved  to  drink,  that  He  might  put  into  our  hand 
a  cup  of  blessing.  "  This  cup  is  the  new  covenant  in  my 
blood,  shed  for  many  for  the  remission  of  sins."     It  is  this 


THE  CRY  OF  THE  ORPHANED  HEART.       181 

which  enables  us  to  go  to  God  the  Judge  of  all  with  con- 
fidence, because  we  go  through  the  blood  of  sprinkling. 
In  the  storm  of  soul  which  an  awakened  conscience  rouses, 
this  is  the  anchor  which  holds — not  my  character  or  re- 
pentance or  the  new  life  formed  in  me  by  Christ,  for  these 
still  remain  imperfect ;  I  need  a  perfect  righteousness  to 
meet  a  perfect  law,  and  I  can  find  it  only  when  I  am 
found  in  Him.     Here  the  conscience  may  have  rest  for  all 
the  guilty  past,  that  it  may  begin  its  new  service  of  love 
to  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ.     And  when  the  conscience  can  say,  My  Father  ! 
the  heart  begins  to  say  it  also.     "  He  that  spared  not  his 
own  Son,  but  delivered  Him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  He 
not  with  Him  also  freely  give  us  all  things  % "    New  com- 
forts and  hopes  come  down  into  the  soul,  like  the  angel 
that  came  into  the  agony  of  the  garden  to  strengthen 
Christ  himself — nay,  Christ  himself  returns,  as  He  said, 
"  I  will  not  leave  you  orphans  :  I  will  come  to  you."    And 
then,  when  the  heart  finds  a  Father  in  God,  the  difficulties 
of  the  mind  about  the  laws  of  nature  disappear.     These 
laws  are  but  the  expression  of  his  will  always  and  every- 
where.    Every  blossom,  ay,  and  every  blight,  every  sun- 
beam and  every  cloud,  are  in  his  hand  for  good  to  me  if 
I  love  Him.     It  needs  no  door  or  window,  no  chink  or 
eyelet-opening  through  which  we  may  communicate,  for 
all  the  earth  and  sky  are  transparent,  and  material  laws 
are  no    impenetrable    armour    laid    on    nature,  but   are 
"  touched  and  turned  to  finest  air."     When  the  heart  has 
found   a  Father  in  God,  all  the  world's  laws  cannot  lay 
hands  on  it  to  imprison  it ;  it  moves  "  through  the  midst 
of  them,  and  so  passes  by." 

4.  But  this  full  sense  of  God's  Fatherhood  is  not  gener- 
ally gained  at  once.  We  do  not  say  that  the  position  is  not 
gained  at  once.     As  soon  as  any  one  comes  to  God  through 


182       THE  CRY  OF  THE  ORPHANED  HEART. 

Christ,  he  is  no  more  a  stranger  and  an  enemy  but  a  child, 
and  all  the  dealings  of  God  with  him  are  paternal  deal- 
ings. But  he  may  fail  to  recognise  a  Father's  voice  and 
hand.  When  his  conscience  comes  under  the  shadow  of 
guilt,  he  says,  ' 1  am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called  thy  son, 
make  me  as  one  of  thy  hired  servants  ;  I  would  be  in 
the  house,  but  I  cannot  be  in  the  family.'  Or,  when  his 
heart  is  sick  and  sore  with  loss  and  pain,  he  says,  "  Surely 
against  me  is  He  turned;  He  turneth  his  hand  against 
me  all  the  day."  Or  God  seems  so  far  away,  shut  out 
by  heavens  of  iron,  that  he  cannot  reach  Him.  "  Also 
when  I  cry  and  shout,  He  shutteth  out  my  prayer."  All 
this  has  been  felt,  and  is  felt  now,  most  of  all  by  those  who 
desire  to  have  God  not  as  a  name,  but  as  a  living  God 
and  Father.  Is  it  so,  then,  that  you  feel  yourself  in  this 
state,  and  that  you  wish  to  rise  from  it  to  a  more  clear 
and  assured  use  of  the  words,  "  Doubtless  Thou  art  our 
Father  "  ?  Then  think  of  these  ways  by  which  it  may  be 
gained.  Come,  first  of  all,  by  a  more  simple  and  loving 
faith  to  the  death  of  Christ  in  the  fulness  of  its  meaning 
Bring  all  sin  and  shortcoming,  and  acquaint  yourself 
with  God  through  Him,  and  be  at  peace.  He  will  take 
you  by  the  hand,  and  lead  you  to  Him  who  is  re- 
conciling sinners  to  Himself,  "  not  imputing  unto  them 
their  trespasses."  And  then,  if  you  would  retain  it, 
seek  more  fully  to  give  Christ  entrance  into  your  heart 
and  life.  He  himself  has  said,  "  If  a  man  love  Me,  he 
will  keep  my  words  :  and  my  Father  will  love  him,  and 
we  will  come  unto  him,  and  make  our  abode  with  him." 
Whether  He  comes  with  a  word  of  active  duty  or  a  word 
of  patient  suffering,  let  us  take  it  and  put  it  into  our 
heart,  and  we  shall  find  ere  long  God's  fatherly  kindness 
in  it.  As  the  heart  is  purified,  we  see  God.  And  that 
we  may  have  power  for  this,  we  must  realise  more  con- 


THE  CRY  OF  THE  ORPHANED  HEART.       183 

stantly  the  presence  of  Christ's  Holy  Spirit.  It  is  He  who 
leads  us  to  be  Christ's  guests  in  his  house,  and  brings 
Christ  to  be  a  guest  in  ours,  and  conveys  to  the  soul  at 
last  the  full  sense  of  sonship.  To  have  God  for  our 
Father  is  not  merely  to  be  forgiven,  it  is  not  even  to  be 
sanctified  ;  it  is  to  be  one  with  Him  in  thought  and 
feeling,  to  listen  to  Him  and  speak  with  Him,  as  one 
speaks  with  a  friend.  It  is  peculiarly  the  work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  lead  us  into  this  inmost  sanctuary  of  son- 
ship.  "  As  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they 
are  the  sons  of  God."  But  to  be  led  by  Him,  we  must 
not  grieve  Him  by  sin  or  neglect,  but  welcome  his 
whispered  admonitions  ;  and  then,  as  we  listen  and  obey, 
we  shall  reach  the  innermost  room  where  "  the  Spirit 
beareth  witness  with  our  spirit,  that  we  are  the  children 
of  God."  There  are  three  chambers,  then,  by  which  we 
advance  to  the  assurance  of  Fatherhood  in  God.  The  first 
is  the  upper  chamber  of  Jerusalem,  which  comes  to  us  ever 
and  again  in  the  Lord's  table,  with  its  offer  of  pardon  and 
peace.  The  second  is  the  chamber  of  the  heart,  to  which 
we  give  Him  admission  in  love  and  obedience.  And  the 
third  is  the  home,  where  the  Holy  Spirit  teaches  us  to  cry, 
"  Abba,  Father."  Every  Christian  should  know  something 
of  all  of  them  at  first ;  some  reach  an  intimate  knowledge 
of  them  very  soon ;  but  in  general  the  progress  is  gradual, 
from  the  peace  of  forgiveness  to  the  house  where  we  can 
say,  "  Doubtless  Thou  art  our  Father,"  with  an  entire  con- 
viction which  fills  the  heart  and  the  life. 

5.  We  say,  last,  that  to  use  these  words  truly  is  a 
matter  of  infinite  moment  to  us  all.  Here  is  a  friend  we 
need  in  every  stage  of  life,  and  in  every  event  of  it.  It 
comes  with  its  invitation  to  the  young :  "  "Wilt  thou  not 
from  this  time  cry  unto  Me,  My  Father,  Thou  art  the 
guide  of  my  youth  V     In  years  long  ago,  when  the  world 


184       THE  CRY  OF  THE  ORPHANED  HEART. 

was  in  its  spring- time,  the  voice  of  the  Lord  God  was 
heard  in  the  garden,  and  it  is  so  still.  The  world  is  not 
safe  or  truly  happy  without  his  guidance. 

"  Now  seek  Him  :  in  Ms  favour  life  is  found, 
All  bliss  beside  a  shadow  or  a  sound." 

And  when  the  world  seems  growing  old  to  us,  and  the 
autumn  leaves  are  falling,  and  the  woods  are  bare,  and  we 
look  up  straight  into  the  sky,  it  is  cheerless  if  the  face  of 
a  Father  does  not  meet  us  there,  who  knoweth  our  frame 
and  remembereth  that  we  are  dust.  And  if  there  be  some 
young  man  who  has  wandered  far  from  his  true  home,  it 
will  never  be  well  with  him  till  he  comes  to  himself  and 
says,  "  I  will  arise  and  go  to  my  Father  1"  Or  if  there  be 
some  who  in  the  world's  work  have  despised  the  better 
portion,  it  is  time  to  come  with  the  prayer,  "  Bless  me, 
even  me  also,  0  my  Father  !" — while  they  can  recover  the 
birthright,  and  the  full  inheritance  of  the  elder-born. 
Whatever  our  estate  in  life  may  be,  it  will  find  what 
it  needs  in  this  name,  if  we  can  truly  use  it.  The  cup  of 
happiness  will  be  sweeter  when  a  Father's  hand  provides 
it,  our  sorrows  soothed  when  He  pours  in  comfort,  our 
burdens  lighter  when  He  sustains  declining  years,  not 
lonely  when  God  says  to  old  age,  "  I  am  He ;"  and  death 
will  not  be  dark,  with  the  promise,  "  If  children,  then  heirs  ; 
heirs  of  God,  and  joint-heirs  with  Christ." 

It  is  in  Jesus  Christ  that  all  the  promises  of  God  are 
"Yea  and  Amen;"  and  in  the  memorials  of  his  death 
and  sacrifice  He  is  willing  to  certify  and  seal  them  to 
us,  if  we  draw  near  in  faith.  Let  us  listen,  as  He 
speaks  of  a  Father's  love  of  heart  :  "  Therefore  doth 
my  Father  love  Me,  because  I  lay  down  my  life."  "As 
the  Father  hath  loved  Me,  so  have  I  loved  you  :  continue 
ye  in  my  love."     And   then,  as  He  leaves,  He  points  to 


THE  CRY  OF  THE  ORPHANED  HEART.       185 

heaven  and  says,  "  I  ascend  unto  my  Father,  and  your 
Father :  and  to  my  God,  and  your  God."  Coming  down 
to  our  level  that  He  may  attract  us,  He  thus  raises  us  to 
his,  that  we  may  look  away  to  the  infinite  and  endless 
hope,  "Father,  I  will  that  they  also,  whom  Thou  hast 
given  Me,  be  with  Me  where  I  am,  that  they  may  behold 
my  glory :  for  Thou  lovedst  Me  before  the  foundation  of 
the  world."  If  we  could  only  take  one  of  these  words,  we 
who  were  far  off  might  come  nigh,  and  claim  God  by  the 
name  which  will  make  life  happy,  death  hopeful,  and 
eternity  safe — "  Doubtless  Thou  art  our  Father,  though 
Abraham  be  ignorant  of  us,  and  Israel  acknowledge  us 
not :  Thou,  0  Lord,  art  our  Father,  our  Redeemer  :  thy 
name  is  from  everlasting." 


XIII. 

THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  BIBLE. 
"  Thy  word  is  true  from  the  beginning. — Psalm  cxix.  160. 

The  object  of  Christian  faith  may  be  compared  to  a 
jewel  enclosed  in  a  casket.  The  jewel  is  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ ;  the  casket  is  the  Bible.  Now,  we  believe  that  a 
man  may  possess  the  jewel  who  has  never  seen  the  casket, 
or  who  has  got  it  in  his  hands  in  an  imperfect  and  broken 
form.  There  is  such  an  efficacy  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
such  a  fitness  in  Him  for  the  sins  and  sorrows  and  wants 
of  poor  fallen  humanity,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  can 
bring  Him  home  to  the  soul  with  saving  power  by  a  small 
portion  of  knowledge.  A  single  Gospel,  a  single  Epistle, 
a  psalm  such  as  the  twenty-third,  or  a  verse  such  as  "  God 
so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave  his  only-begotten  Son, 
that  whosoever  belie veth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but 
have  everlasting  life,"  if*  explained  simply  and  brought 
home  by  God's  Spirit,  may  become  God's  power  to  salva- 
tion. The  Bible  came  to  men  in  fragments,  piece  after 
piece,  through  many  generations,  and  a  fragment  of  it  can 
still  do  its  proper  work.  It  has  a  principle  of  life  that  is 
complete  in  its  separate  parts,  and  you  may  see  all  its 
truth  in  one  text,  as  you  can  see  all  the  sun's  image  in  one 
drop  of  dew  in  a  flower.  This  is  a  wise,  divine  arrange- 
ment, which  may  reassure  some  who  fear  they  are  losing 
Christ,  when  the  question  is  about  the  meaning  of  some 
parts  of  the  Bible.  If  a  man  were  so  driven  about  on  seas 
of  difficulty,  that  he  could  only  have  a  board  or  broken 


THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  BIBLE.  187 

piece  of  the  ship,  it  would  "  bring  hiin  safe  to  land." 
Nevertheless,  the  care  and  completeness  of  the  casket  are 
of  very  great  moment.  Our  salvation  may  be  gained  by 
one  word  about  Christ,  but  our  edification,  our  Christian 
comfort  and  well-being,  depend  on  the  full  word  of  Christ. 
Wherever  He  is  set  forth,  however  dimly,  there  is  some- 
thing for  us  to  learn,  something  needful  to  make  us 
thoroughly  furnished  unto  every  good  work.  Here  the 
Bible  may  be  compared,  not  to  a  casket  enclosing  a  jewel, 
but  to  a  piece  of  tapestry  on  which  a  figure  is  inwoven. 
If  it  be  mutilated,  or  the  golden  threads  that  meet  and 
intermingle  be  torn  and  tarnished,  we  lose,  so  far,  the 
complete  image  of  truth  that  is  the  inheritance  of  the 
Church  of  Christ — the  inheritance  which  the  apostle  thus 
describes :  "  Whatsoever  things  were  written  aforetime 
were  written  for  Our  learning,  that  we  through  patience 
and  comfort  of  the  Scriptures  might  have  hope." 

We  purpose,  then,  turning  attention  to  the  structure  of 
the  Bible  as  a  whole,  and  we  shall  try  to  show  that  it  bears 
evident  marks  of  being  a  complete  book.  It  is  not  a 
number  of  stones  accidentally  thrown  together;  it  is  a 
building  that  has  grown  up,  with  all  its  variety,  into  a 
symmetrical  shape.  In  trying  to  do  this,  we  shall  not 
enter  into  any  questions  of  criticism,  higher  or  lower,  and 
we  shall  take  no  part  in  controversies  that  are  at  present 
proceeding.  Our  desire  is  to  avoid  details,  and  to  deal 
with  the  Bible  in  its  great,  broad  features,  but  in  such  a 
way  that  any  intelligent  Christian,  who  knows  nothing  of 
Hebrew  or  Greek  or  the  rules  of  criticism,  may  feel,  with 
God's  help,  that  he  has  the  Bible  in  a  self-attesting,  con- 
sistent form.  As  a  man  may  have  such  a  hold  of  Christ 
that,  with  his  life  dwelling  in  the  soul,  he  can  stand  fast 
against  all  scepticism,  so  an  earnest  Christian,  who  studies 
his  Bible  and  compares  part  with  part,  may  be  able  to 


188  THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  BIBLE. 

say,  This  book  is  attested  by  its  structure  as  one  unbroken 
work  :  "  Thy  word  is  true  from  the  beginning." 

The  Bible,  as  one  sees  at  first  sight,  consists  of  two 
great  divisions,  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New.  These 
are  very  unlike  each  other  in  many  ways.  There  were 
several  centuries  between  the  end  of  the  one  and  the 
beginning  of  the  other.  You  turn  the  leaf  from  Malachi 
to  Matthew,  and  you  forget  that  there  is  a  wide  sea  of 
time  rolling  between  them.  They  are  like  an  old  world 
and  a  new.  They  speak  two  different  languages.  The  one 
is  Hebrew,  with  all  the  ways  and  thoughts  of  the  Jewish 
people  gathering  round  Jerusalem.  The  other  is  Greek, 
beginning  at  Jerusalem,  but  going  out  to  visit  Ephesus 
and  Athens  and  Corinth  and  Rome  and  the  great  civilisa- 
tions of  the  world. 

And  yet  these  two  halves  of  the  Bible  are  necessary  to 
supplement  each  other.  Although  the  Old  Testament  has 
the  knowledge  of  the  one  only  living  and  true  God,  it 
could  never  by  itself  have  brought  the  world  to  worship 
Him.  It  might  have  a  proselyte  here  and  there,  but  it 
could  never  gather  all  nations  to  the  temple  at  Jerusalem 
once  a  year,  nor  lead  them  to  adopt  all  its  rites  and  cere- 
monies, which  were  a  heavy  burden  to  the  Jews  themselves. 
It  was  impossible  that  their  ceremonial  law  could  ever 
become  a  universal  law,  for  one  of  its  purposes  was  to  be 
like  a  close  wall  round  the  truth  of  God  in  a  cold,  dark 
time,  and  to  keep  the  Jews  a  separate  people  from  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  And  so  we  find  that  the  Jews  who 
have  held  by  the  Old  Testament  alone  have  never  been 
able  to  spread  their  religion.  They  have  indeed  no  desire 
to  do  so,  and  they  remain  alone  and  unmixed.  If  we  had 
only  the  Old  Testament,  we  should  have  an  incomplete 
and  broken  monument  of  the  past,  with  hieroglyphics 
and  pictures  on  it  to  which  there  was  no  key. 


THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  BIBLE.  189 

On  the  other  hand,  if  you  were  to  take  the  New  Testa- 
ment alone,  you  could  not  clearly  understand  it.  Many  of 
its  truths  about  God  and  Christ  and  the  eternal  world  are 
clothed  in  language  and  figures  drawn  from  the  Old 
Testament.  Christ  is  a  priest,  He  offers  sacrifice,  He 
makes  atonement,  He  enters  in  within  the  veil,  there  to 
appear  in  the  presence  of  God.  When  the  apostle  tells 
us  what  we  reach  in  the  New  Testament,  he  says,  "  Ye  are 
come  unto  Mount  Sion,  and  unto  the  city  of  the  living 
God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem  j "  and  after  leading  us 
through  one  shining  circle  after  another  he  says,  "And 
to  Jesus,  the  mediator  of  the  new  covenant,  and  to  the 
blood  of  sprinkling,  that  speaketh  better  things  than  that 
of  Abel."  Before  God  sent  his  Son  into  the  world,  He  had 
to  create  words  and  figures  and  moulds  of  thought,  into 
which  to  pour  the  truth,  else  we  had  not  been  able  to  think 
or  speak  rightly  about  Christ  and  what  He  is  to  us ;  and 
that  is  one  reason  for  saying  that  Christ  "came  in 
the  fulness  of  time."  Philosophers  tell  us  that,  without 
the  outer  world  of  nature  to  draw  a  language  from,  we 
could  not  have  expressed  a  single  thought.  Every  word 
we  use  is  some  figure  drawn  from  the  outside  world ;  so 
much  so  that  Locke  said,  "  There  is  nothing  in  our  intelli- 
gence that  was  not  before  in  our  senses ; "  to  which  Leib- 
nitz replied,  "Nothing,  except  our  intelligence."  The 
senses  would  be  blind  and  dead  without  the  intelligence  ; 
but  the  intelligence  would  be  dumb  without  the  sense 
and  the  world  of  sense.  And  so  what  the  world  of  nature 
is  to  the  soul  of  man  the  Old  Testament  is  to  the  New. 
God  first  made  his  creation,  and  then  He  made  a  living 
soul  to  use  it  and  interpret  it;  He  first  made  the  old 
world  of  type  and  symbol  and  history,  and  then  He  sent 
his  Son  to  fill  it  with  spiritual  truth,  and  use  it  for  a  lan- 
guage to  tell  us  about  divine  and  eternal  things. 


190  THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  BIBLE. 

And  yet  we  should  not  have  given  a  true  view  of  the 
connection  between  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New,  if  we 
made  the  one  merely  language,  and  the  other  thought. 
For  the  Old  Testament  has  also  thought.  There  are 
thoughts  breathed  in,  as  we  believe,  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
before  He  came,  thoughts  somewhat  like  those  that  He 
breathed  into  the  souls  of  the  two  going  to  Emmans,  when 
they  did  not  know  Him,  yet  said,  "  Did  not  our  heart  burn 
within  us,  while  He  talked  with  us  by  the  way  3 "  These 
were  frequently  not  shaped  into  distinct  expression,  not 
articulate,  and  clearly  they  were  cries  of  longing,  of  want 
that  went  forward  to  a  great  Object  out  of  sight,  but  their 
very  hopes  tell  us  something  of  his  nature.  The  trees  of 
the  field  rejoiced  before  the  Lord  when  He  was  coming,  for 
his  Spirit's  breath  was  already  in  the  leaves.  When  you 
sit  in  the  house  at  night,  and  hear  the  wind  blowing  as  it 
listeth,  you  cannot  tell  whence  it  cometh  or  whither  it 
goeth  ;  but  when  you  see  it  bending  the  trees,  you  know 
how  it  is  setting  ;  and  the  whole  bent  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment is  from  the  soul  in  breathings  and  desires  that  go 
forward  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

The  study  of  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New  in  some 
systematic  way  is  one  of  the  most  instructive  and  reassur- 
ing ways  of  reading  the  Bible.  The  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  was  written  for  the  guidance  of  such  study,  and 
our  Lord  has  urged  us  to  it  :  "  Search  the  Scriptures ;  they 
are  they  which  testify  of  Me."  No  other  religion  has  a 
book  that  resembles  this  in  structure,  or  that  at  all 
approaches  it — two  independent  halves  that  were  formed 
separately,  and  that  fit  into  each  other  like  a  lock  and  a 
key,  the  one  needful  to  complete  the  other,  and  yet  framed 
at  a  distance  of  centuries. 

But  we  may  advance  now  to  look  at  the  separate  struc- 
ture of  the  two  parts. 


THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  BIBLE.  191 

1.  We  cannot  read  the  Old  Testament  without  seeing 
that  the  whole  of  it  rests  on  the  basis  of  a  history — the 
history  contained  in  what  we  call  the  books  of  Moses.  The 
life  of  the  Jewish  nation  is  continually  turning  back  to  the 
covenant  made  with  Abraham  and  Isaac  and  Jacob ;  and, 
above  all,  to  the  great  deliverance  from  Egypt  by  the  hand 
of  Moses.  It  is  impossible  to  understand  the  subsequent 
history  without  this.  What  was  it  that  inspired  all  the 
battles  against  foreign  enemies  and  internal  revolts  and 
corruptions,  but  this  memory?  Men  like  Joshua  and 
Samuel  are  fired  by  it,  and,  if  there  be  any  truth  at  all  in 
what  we  are  told  about  them,  it  is  impossible  to  account 
for  it  without  the  history  of  Moses  having  gone  before,  for 
they  are  constantly  speaking  of  it,  and  inspiring  the  people 
with  its  recollections.  Or  take  the  great  historical  psalms, 
or  the  psalms  generally,  and  the  prophets ;  you  find  their 
appeals  always  made  to  it.  "  The  waters  saw  Thee,  0  God, 
the  waters  saw  Thee ;  they  were  afraid  :  the  depths  also 
were  troubled  "  (Ps.  lxxvii.  16).  "  Then  He  remembered 
the  days  of  old,  Moses,  and  his  people,  saying,  Where  is 
He  that  brought  them  up  out  of  the  sea  with  the  shepherd 
of  his  flock  1  Where  is  He  that  put  his  holy  Spirit  within 
him !  that  led  them  by  the  right  hand  of  Moses  with  his 
glorious  arm,  dividing  the  water  before  them,  to  make  Him- 
self an  everlasting  name1?  "  (Isa.  lxiii.  11,  12.)  You  might 
as  well  describe  a  tree  without  a  root,  as  explain  the  great 
body  of  the  Old  Testament  without  the  knowledge  of  the 
history  contained  in  the  five  books  of  Moses,  both  by  the 
men  who  spoke  and  the  people  who  listened  to  them ;  for 
you  will  observe  that  they  speak  to  the  people  as  acquainted 
with  the  events.  How  they  gained  that  acquaintance  we 
do  not  here  inquire,  but  that  they  had  it  very  fully  and 
circumstantially  most  reasonable  men  will  admit. 

Now,  if  you  turn  to  the  New  Testament,  you  will  find 


102  THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  BIBLE. 

that  it  begins,  in  like  manner,  with  a  history — the  history 
of  the  four  Gospels ;  and  what  the  Pentateuch  is  to  the 
Old  Testament,  the  Gospels  are  to  the  New.  You  cannot 
understand,  you  cannot  account  for,  the  rest  of  the  New 
Testament,  the  labours  and  sufferings  of  the  apostles  and 
the  letters  they  wrote,  without  admitting  that  the  writers 
and  those  to  whom  they  wrote  were  acquainted  familiarly 
with  the  life  and  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ,  as  these 
are  related  in  the  Gospels.  Indeed,  we  could  reconstruct 
the  chief  events  in  the  life  of  Christ  from  the  first  four 
epistles  of  Paul,  which  the  most  daring  criticism  admits 
to  be  genuine. 

Here  then  is  a  symmetry  in  the  two  parts  of  the  Bible. 
Each  begins  with  a  history  which  pervades  and  inspires  all 
that  follows.  Only,  the  two  histories  are  different,  while 
they  are  connected.  The  one  is  that  of  a  divinely  chosen 
people  selected  for  a  special  purpose.  The  other  is  that 
of  a  Divine  Person,  and  a  person  is  superior  to  a  people 
merely  as  a  people,  as  a  corporate  body ;  for  a  person  has 
an  immortality,  a  nation  has  not,  and  a  person  can  be 
charged  with  far  higher  lessons  than  a  nation.  The  two 
histories  are  on  two  planes,  a  lower  and  a  higher ;  the 
lower  is  imperfect  without  the  higher,  and  the  higher 
assumes  and  completes  the  lower. 

2.  If  you  look  to  the  Old  Testament,  you  find  that  there 
is  a  second  stage,  after  the  Pentateuch.  It  is  a  struggle  to 
obtain  a  place  where  the  original  history  may  find  a  firm 
footing,  and  may  unfold  itself  for  the  good  of  the  world, 
though  as  yet  those  who  act  in  it  do  not  understand  its 
full  bearing.  This  is  the  history  of  Joshua,  and  Judges, 
and  Samuel,  and  those  that  follow  after.  There  were  great 
truths  about  the  unity  and  character  of  God  committed  to 
this  nation,  that  they  might  preserve  them  in  the  midst  of 
the   darkness  and  chill  which  then  prevailed ;  and  they 


THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  BIBLE.  193 

must  have  a  land  to  themselves  where  their  law  is  to  wall 
them  in  from  the  world  around.  The  struggle  of  the 
nation  is  to  secure  this  separate  place,  and  the  struggle  of 
those  who  lead  them  is  to  secure  the  permanence  of  the 
law  which  God  had  given  them.  We  cannot  read  these 
books  without  seeing  that  there  was  this  twofold  struggle, 
first  the  land  and  then  the  law.  They  are  to  be  a  people 
who  dwell  alone,  and  who  are  not  reckoned  among  the 
nations. 

In  the  New  Testament  there  is  a  similar  period,  con- 
tained chiefly  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  but  it  penetrates 
also  the  Epistles.  The  apostles  and  disciples  are  struggling 
to  find  a  lodgment  for  the  history  of  the  great  Person  with 
whom  they  have  come  in  contact.  Only,  the  place  is  no 
more  one  country,  but  the  whole  earth.  They  have  heard 
the  word,  "  The  field  is  the  world."  "  Go  into  all  the  world, 
and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature."  And  the  weapons 
are  not  now  "  carnal  but  spiritual,  yet  mighty  through 
God  to  the  pulling  down  of  strong  holds."  They  have  to 
lodge  these  truths  in  the  hearts  and  souls  of  men  by  argu- 
ment and  suasion.  The  one  period  draws  its  force  from 
Sinai — "  The  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die;"  the  other  from 
Calvary — "  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up,  will  draw  all  men  unto  Me." 
But  they  are  connected  as  battles  for  truth  and  grace,  and 
the  two  leading  men  in  them,  Joshua  and  Paul,  have 
similar  features  of  courage  and  zeal  and  fidelity  to  death 
— the  one  dying  with  the  words,  "  As  for  me  and  my  house, 
we  will  serve  the  Lord ; "  the  other,  "  I  have  fought  a 
good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the 
faith." 

3.  If  you  turn  again  to  the  Old  Testament,  you  will  find 
a  third  stage.  It  is  the  period  of  reflection.  After  the  battle 
for  the  land  has  been  fought,  and  the  land  itself  to  some 
extent  secured,  the  question  rises,  What  have  we  gained  in 

N 


194  THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  BIBLE. 

our  conflict,  and  what  is  the  meaning  of  the  history  through 
which  our  nation  has  passed  1  Leisure  has  been  given  for 
this  question,  and  it  is  in  the  course  of  things  that  the  eye 
turns  from  the  outside  world  to  the  inner.  Thought  is 
folded  over  on  the  past  in  meditation.  This  brings  us  into 
the  centre  of  the  Old  Testament — to  the  books  of  Psalms 
and  many  of  the  Prophets.  It  is  a  meditation  in  which 
they  are  guided  by  God's  Spirit.  They  are  ready  to 
acknowledge  this,  and  it  is  seen  in  the  character  of  the 
teaching,  but  at  the  same  time  it  is  carried  on  by  the 
musings  and  reasonings  of  the  spirit  of  man.  This  is  what 
makes  it  so  human,  so  natural,  so  attractive  to  us.  They 
pore  over  the  old  book  of  the  law,  and  see  wondrous  things 
in  it  about  God  and  his  government  and  works  and  ways, 
about  themselves  and  God's  will  to  be  fulfilled  in  them. 
That  history,  which  in  the  Pentateuch  is  in  a  great  measure 
general,  something  done  for  the  nation,  becomes  individual, 
as  a  promise  of  what  God  will  do  for  every  soul  that  trusts 
Him.  The  very  law  which  seems  an  outward  and  cere- 
monial thing,  at  best  a  map  of  moral  duties,  becomes  deep 
and  searching  and  spiritual.  Compare,  for  example,  the 
psalms  of  David  and  Asaph  and  many  parts  of  the  pro- 
phets, with  the  song  of  Moses  and  Miriam  or  the  death- 
song  of  Moses  or  the  song  of  Deborah  and  Barak,  and  you 
see  what  an  advance  there  has  been  in  the  depth  of  the 
spiritual  life.  The  eye  of  the  earlier  believers  is  turned 
outward  to  the  grandeur  of  God's  deliverances,  the  eye  of 
the  later  is  turned  inward  to  the  needs  of  the  soul — "  My 
soul  thirsteth  for  God."  "  Create  in  me  a  clean  heart,  0 
God,  and  renew  a  right  spirit  within  me."  "  The  sacrifices 
of  God  are  a  broken  heart."  You  can  see  that  these  men 
live  after  the  days  of  ceremonial  law,  long  after  it,  and  that 
they  have  learned  to  see  beyond  it  and  through  it,  to 
another  cleansing  in  which  their  hearts  rejoice.      It  is  as 


THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  BIBLE.  195 

impossible  to  take  the  ceremonial  law,  and  put  it  after 
these  words,  according  to  any  rule  of  progress,  as  it  would 
be  to  take  a  tree,  and  put  its  roots  in  the  air  and  its 
branches  and  blossoms  in  the  earth.  In  all  real  develop- 
ment, insight  into  the  spiritual  follows  the  outward  events. 

Now,  in  the  New  Testament  there  is  a  corresponding 
period  showing  the  same  marks.  It  is  in  the  Epistles  of 
Paul  and  of  his  fellow-disciples.  The  Gospels  give  us  great 
events,  but  the  conclusions  are  not  fully  drawn,  and  Christ 
promises  the  Spirit  of  Truth  to  guide,  to  show  the  way 
into  all  truth.  What  the  Psalms  and  Prophets  are  to 
the  early  history  of  the  Old  Testament,  the  Epistles  are  to 
the  Gospels ;  and  the  Epistles  are  above  the  Psalms  and 
Prophets,  as  the  Gospels  are  above  the  books  of  Moses. 
The  view  they  give  of  God  is  more  clearly  "  God  in  Christ." 
The  grand  attributes  of  power  and  justice  are  still  there,  but 
mercy,  condescension,  tenderness,  have  come  into  full  view, 
and  gather  round  Him  who  is  Son  of  God  and  Son  of  Man. 
The  questions  of  the  soul  as  to  how  righteousness,  accept- 
ance with  God,  and  likeness  to  Him  may  be  gained  are 
answered  in  Jesus  Christ.  Compare  the  51st  psalm,  which 
is  one  of  the  highest  reaches  of  spiritual  life  in  the  Old 
Testament,  with  the  8th  chapter  of  the  Romans,  and  you 
will  see  how  like  David's  use  of  the  law  is  to  the  apostle's 
use  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  and  yet  how  much  clearer 
and  fuller  is  the  New  Testament  form. 

4.  We  shall  now  ask  you  to  look  at  one  closing  period 
in  this  comparison.  We  may  call  it  the  sense  of  incomplete- 
ness. This  is  the  period  of  prophecy  proper — of  many  of 
the  psalms,  of  Isaiah  and  the  later  prophets.  They  expect 
a  king  who  is  to  be  greater  than  David,  a  prophet  who  is 
to  speak  truth  without  a  veil,  a  priest  who  is  to  present  a 
perfect  offering  and  be  king  as  well  as  priest.  All  through 
we  find  sparks  of  such  an  expectation  breaking  forth,  but, 


196  THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  BIBLE. 

as  the  ages  roll  on,  they  gather  into  a  deep,  burning  desire. 
The  look  that  turned  in  memory  to  the  deliverance  from 
Egypt  is  turned  in  hope  to  One  who  is  to  give  liberty  to 
the  captives,  the  opening  of  the  prison  to  them  that  are 
bound,  and  to  preach  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord — the 
desire  of  all  nations,  the  Messenger  of  the  Covenant,  who 
is  to  come  and  fill  the  rising  temple  with  his  glory.  As 
the  sun  of  the  past  is  setting,  another  sun  rises,  the  Sun 
of  Righteousness,  with  healing  in  his  wings,  and  that  Sun 
shall  no  more  go  down.  The  Old  Testament  closes  with  this 
intent,  bending  gaze  on  the  future,  and  closes,  not  having 
received  the  promise,  but  being  persuaded  of  it  and 
embracing  it. 

And  the  New  Testament  has  this  period  also.  It  is 
true  it  does  not  occupy  so  large  a  place,  for  the  New 
Testament  is  the  revelation  of  fulfilment  and  possession. 
But  even  its  possession  is  imperfect.  Christ,  when  He 
left,  pointed  forward,  and  spoke  of  his  return  ;  and  the 
Book  of  Revelation  is  full  of  it,  and  cannot  end  until  it 
shows  us,  in  the  grand  sweep  of  the  Word  of  God,  the 
second  paradise  resting  above  the  first,  and  surpassing  it 
at  every  point.  For  though  the  Gospel  of  Christ  has  in 
it  that  which  gives  present  peace  and  power,  it  has  such 
promises  on  its  lips,  such  presentiments  in  its  heart,  such 
infinite  desires  infused  into  its  life,  that  we  feel  these 
mortal  eyes  can  never  measure  it,  nor  this  finite  world 
hold  it.  And  so,  as  the  Old  Testament  ends  by  looking 
for  his  first  coming,  the  New  finishes  with  a  cry  for  his 
second.  Its  last  word  breathes  out  a  response  to  his 
promise,  "  Behold,  I  come  quickly."  "  Amen.  Even  so, 
come,  Lord  Jesus." 

The  view  we  have  given  of  the  structure  ot  the  Bible 
shows  us  two  great  divisions  of  independent  formation, 
and   yet    connected,  the    Old    Testament    and    the    New 


THE  STKUCTURE  OF  THE  BIBLE.  197 

answering  to  each  other  as  childhood  to  manhood,  or  as 
the  younger  plants  in  a  nursery-garden  to  the  trees. 
"When  you  look  into  the  two  parts,  you  find  these  stages 
— a  history  at  the  base  of  each,  the  Pentateuch  and 
Gospels,  in  the  one  that  of  a  selected  nation,  in  the  other 
of  a  Divine  Person — then  a  struggle  to  find  a  place  in  the 
world — then  reflection  on  what  has  been  gained,  bringing 
out  the  lessons — then  the  sense  of  incompleteness  awaiting 
something  fuller.  I  think  an  unprejudiced  mind  will 
acknowledge  that  there  is  a  plan  here.  We  hold  it  to  be 
a  divine  plan,  and  that  there  is  no  other  possible  way  of 
accounting  for  it.  If  a  man  will  not  admit  this,  he  may 
say  that  all  these  remarkable  agreements  have  been  the 
work  of  chance.  But  a  reasonable  man  will  see  that  they 
are  so  many  and  striking,  they  will  so  grow  upon  him  as 
he  studies,  that  he  will  reject  such  an  explanation.  He 
will  come  to  the  conclusion,  as  some  one  has  said,  "  I  had 
rather  believe  in  the  miracles  of  God  than  the  miracles  of 
chance."  Or  a  man  might  say  that  this  agreement  is  the 
work  of  concert.  But  Avhen  you  look  at  the  length  of 
time  over  which  the  formation  has  extended,  at  the  inde- 
pendent way  in  which  its  different  parts  have  sprung  up, 
you  will  see  that  this  is  impossible,  even  if  the  writers  had 
been  dishonest  enough  to  try  it.  It  would  be  impossible 
to  make  up  the  New  Testament  by  concert,  much  more 
the  Old  Testament  and  the  New.  Neither  of  these  two 
ways  of  accounting  for  the  Bible  will  stand  serious  con- 
sideration, and  I  do  not  know  of  any  one  who  would  now 
urge  them. 

But  there  is  still  another  way  a  man  might  take.  He 
might  say  the  Bible  is  a  thing  of  natural  growth.  It  has 
gone  on  through  mind  propelling  mind,  each  carrying  on 
the  growing  torch  of  light,  first  in  the  Old  Testament  and 
then  in  the  New,  till  it  has  become  what  we  see.     It  is  a 


1  98  THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  BIBLE. 

formation,  wonderful,  beautiful,  but  still  it  is  only  a 
human  formation.  Now,  let  us  frankly  admit  that  more 
can  be  said  for  this  explanation  than  for  the  other  two. 
As  we  have  tried  to  show,  the  Bible  is  a  growth,  a  growth 
up  through  the  minds  and  hearts  and  lives  of  men.  On 
one  side  it  is  a  growth  in  humanity.  But  we  have  this  to 
say  :  You  have  not  only  to  account  for  a  growth  in  the 
mind  of  man,  you  have  to  account  for  facts  and  events 
well  attested,  which  meet  and  supplement  one  another, 
and  some  of  which  are  proceeding  in  our  own  day,  carry- 
ing out  words  written  down  long  ago  in  the  Bible, — for 
example,  the  condition  of  -the  Jewish  people,  and  the 
spread  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  You  have  to  account  for 
this,  that  there  is  no  other  natural  development  like  it, 
none  even  of  a  secular  kind,  none  certainly  of  a  religious 
kind.  No  religion  has  a  book  which  in  its  formation  can 
compare  with  the  Bible,  still  less  in  its  character  and  con- 
tents, in  its  power  to  elevate,  to  transform,  to  regenerate 
human  nature.  And  you  have  this  to  account  for,  how 
the  Bible  has  had  to  force  its  way  against  ordinary  human 
nature.  Do  we  not  feel  it  in  our  own  experience1?  It 
has  had  to  fight  for  its  position,  foot  by  foot,  in  the  world 
and  in  men's  hearts  ;  cast  down,  crushed  out  of  exist 
ence  like  its  great  Subject,  and  then  rising  by  a  miracle 
from  the  grave.  It  is  a  development  in  man's  nature,  but 
not  from  it ;  it  comes  from  a  power  that  causes  it  to  rise 
up  through  the  surface  strata  like  a  great  mountain  peak 
with  its  forests  and  fields  and  streams,  till  it  forms  a  new 
and  higher  law  for  itself,  a  supernatural  that  becomes 
divinely  natural,  and  that  proves  it  to  be  from  Him  in 
whose  hand  are  the  "  deep  places  of  the  earth  and  the 
strength  of  the  hills."  We  are  very  hopeful  that,  if  a  man 
will  so  study  the  Bible,  he  will   come  to  the  conclusion 


THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  BIBLE.  199 

that  it  is  a  plant  of  u  our  heavenly  Father's  planting,  that 
cannot  be  rooted  up." 

There  are  three  things  for  which  we  should  thank  God. 
— First,  that  He  has  given  his  revelation  in  the  form  of  a 
history.  Science  has  her  sphere  in  nature,  philosophy  in 
thought,  religion  in  a  divine  history.  This  gives  it  a 
variety,  an  interest,  a  life,  which  it  could  not  otherwise 
have  possessed,  and  allows  of  its  being  put  in  a  book 
which  every  man  can  read  for  himself,  so  simple,  yet  so 
profound.  Secondly,  that  He  has  given  his  revelation  in 
such  a  form  that  it  bears  the  marks  of  its  epochs  on  it, 
and  shows  us  an  advancing  education  of  the  human  family 
from  the  natural  to  the  ever  more  spiritual,  from  the  out- 
ward lessons  of  symbol  to  the  inward  lessons  of  life ;  so 
that  every  intelligent  Christian  can  judge  of  the  current 
of  revelation  as  a  whole,  and  say,  *  This  way  it  flows,  not 
so.'  Criticism  has  its  place  and  rights,  but  it  cannot 
touch  the  strong  current.  It  can  study  the  bank  eddies 
here  and  there,  but  it  can  never  affect  the  place  of  broad 
rivers  and  streams.  There,  our  common  Christianity  can 
judge  of  the  course  of  the  river.  And,  lastly,  that  He  has 
so  connected  Christ  with  the  Bible  that,  by  carrying  the 
thought  of  Him  through  it,  we  may  bind  it  into  one  un- 
broken Word.  From  first  to  last  it  is  the  revelation 
of  Jesus  Christ.  All  through  He  is  in  it,  from  the  first 
promise  to  the  last.  If  we  fear  about  the  Bible,  let  us 
follow  Him  through  it,  and  the  Word  of  God  will  not  be 
broken.  He  passes  through  it,  reads  its  writings,  opens 
its  seals,  and  is  worthy  to  do  it  all,  because  He  was  slain 
and  has  redeemed  us  to  God  by  his  blood.  And  that  He 
may  so  open  the  Bible  to  us,  let  us  open  to  Him  our 
hearts,  and  all  shall  be  sure  about  the  Bible  and  its  truth 
from  beginning  to  end.     Amen  and  Amen. 


XIV. 

THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN. 

"  Then  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  her,  0  woman,  great  is  thy 
faith  :  be  it  unto  thee  even  as  thou  ivilt" — Matt.  xv.  28. 

When  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  lived  on  earth,  He  did  not 
carry  his  mission  beyond  the  land  of  promise.  He  has 
given  the  reason  of  this  :  "  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the 
earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto  Me."  He  must  first  ascend 
his  cross,  and  then  ascend  his  throne,  that  divine  love  and 
power,  his  gospel  and  his  spirit,  might  be  ready  to  move 
forth  with  the  command  that  "  repentance  and  remission 
of  sins  should  be  preached  among  all  nations,  beginning  at 
Jerusalem."  But  in  his  journeyings  He  came,  ever  and 
again,  into  gracious  contact  with  mankind-sinners  from 
beyond  the  Jewish  pale,  that  He  might  show  Gentile 
and  Samaritan  what  was  in  his  heart.  He  travelled  close 
on  the  border  line  of  heathendom,  that  the  light  of  his 
presence  might  shine  across  on  some  of  the  longing  souls 
that  were  in  darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death.  In  one 
of  these  walks  of  compassion  He  came  near  the  coasts  of 
Tyre  and  Sidon,  where  the  remnants  of  those  nations  dwelt 
which  had  been  driven  from  their  land  for  their  sins.  One 
of  this  race,  a  woman  of  Canaan,  was  suffering  from  a  sore 
affliction  in  her  family,  and  she  sought  Him  out  and 
followed  Him  with  an  urgent  prayer  for  help.  At  first 
He  turned  a  deaf  car  to  her  and  repelled  her  petition  with 

200 


THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN.  201 

a  coldness  which  rises  into  what  seems  harshness.  But 
He  knew  the  strength  of  faith  which  was  in  her  heart,  and 
He  wished  to  bring  it  out  for  the  perfecting  of  her  own 
spiritual  nature,  and  for  an  example  to  us.  When  at  last 
her  faith  appeared  in  its  marvellous  strength  and  beauty, 
He  looked  on  it  with  wonder.  It  is  said  of  the  first 
creation,  "  God  saw  it,  and  behold,  it  was  very  good  ; "  and 
of  the  second,  "  The  Lord  Jehovah  shall  be  satisfied  in  his 
works."  And  so,  when  a  part  of  this  new  creation  appears 
in  a  human  heart,  Christ  sees  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  and 
is  satisfied.  It  is  an  earnest  of  the  joy  set  before  Him,  for 
which  He  endured  the  cross  and  despised  the  shame.  We 
shall  make  the  faith  of  this  woman  the  subject  of  thought 
by  trying  to  answer  two  questions  :  (1.)  What  made  her 
faith  so  remarkable1?  (2.)  What  enabled  her  to  hold  on 
and  at  last  to  triumph  1  We  shall  thus  have  a  view  of  it 
first  on  its  outward,  and  then  on  its  inward  side. 

I.  What,  then,  made  the  faith  of  this  woman  so 
remarkable  1  The  first  thing  which  strikes  us  is  that  she 
had  much  against  her  in  her  original  circumstances.  She  was, 
as  you  see,  a  woman  of  Canaan.  She  was  not  of  the  Jewish 
race,  nor  even,  as  it  would  seem,  a  proselyte;  but  an 
u  alien  from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel  and  a  stranger  to 
the  covenants  of  promise."  She  was  not  only  a  Gentile, 
but  of  that  family  of  Gentiles  which  must  have  had  most 
dislike  to  the  Jews.  Her  forefathers  had  suffered  from 
their  hostility,  and  she  no  doubt  had  felt  their  haughty 
bigotry  and  exclusiveness.  There  was  a  frontier  line  of 
dislike  to  cross,  far  wider  than  any  distance  between  Tyre 
and  Palestine.  But  it  did  not  keep  her  from  finding  her 
way  to  the  great  Teacher  of  the  Jewish  nation.  Then, 
think  of  how  her  circumstances  must  have  affected  her 
knowledge.     She  addresses  Christ  as  Lord,  with  reverence 


202  THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN. 

and  trust,  and  speaks  of  Him  as  the  Son  of  David.  But 
how  dim  was  her  light,  compared  with  that  of  those  who 
had  heard  the  Scriptures  read  in  their  synagogues,  who 
had  joined  in  the  services  and  sacrifices  of  the  temple,  and 
had  been  prepared  for  the  coming  of  Christ  as  a  Saviour 
from  sin  and  sorrow !  How  little  did  she  know  compared 
with  Anna  the  prophetess  who  departed  not  from  the 
temple  night  and  day,  with  Martha  and  Mary  who  heard 
his  words  in  their  own  home,  or  even  with  that  woman  in 
the  city  who  was  a  sinner,  who  had  listened  to  Him  with- 
out, and  was  then  drawn  into  Simon's  house  to  weep  till 
her  heart  was  like  to  break  !  All  these  had  remarkable 
faith,  but  we  do  not  know  of  any  who  had  so  little  know- 
ledge on  which  to  base  it,  and  so  little  room  to  take  home 
the  promise  to  their  own  case.  It  is  an  instance  of  faith 
like  a  grain  of  mustard  seed  which  can  remove  mountains, 
or  wing  its  way  over  them. 

God  has  bestowed  on  man  two  great  powers,  reason  and 
faith.  They  are  not  opposed  to  each  other,  though  they  are 
sometimes  spoken  of  as  if  they  were.  But  they  are  very 
different.  The  field  of  reason  is  the  things  which  are  seen 
and  temporal ;  the  field  of  faith,  the  things  which  are  unseen 
and  eternal.  Where  reason  can  go  no  farther,  faith  passes 
forward  on  stronger  than  angels'  wings,  grasping  the  hand 
of  God ;  where  reason  is  blind,  faith  has  eyes  for  a  world 
in  which  it  dwells,  like  those  men  of  old  who  lived  "  as 
seeing  Him  who  is  invisible."  Let  us  thank  God  for 
reason,  but  let  us  thank  Him  above  all  for  faith,  for  the 
power  by  which  the  soul  can  find  a  way  through  all  the 
thick  folds  of  matter  straight  to  the  living  God,  and,  through 
small  privileges  and  what  to  us  seems  hard  treatment, 
can  find  out  Christ  and  fall  at  his  feet  with  the  burden  of 
its  need.  It  is  often  impossible  for  us  to  ascertain  the 
laws  by  which  faith  operates,  and  the  ground  on  which,  in 


THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN.  203 

individual  cases,  its  strength  rests.  Its  object  is  unseen, 
and  so  also  is  its  work  in  the  soul ;  but  its  effects  are  very 
sure  and  palpable.  "  The  wind  bloweth  where  it  listeth, 
and  we  hear  the  sound  thereof,  but  cannot  tell  whence  it 
cometh,  and  whither  it  goeth  \ n  but  we  can  judge  of  its 
power  in  the  barriers  it  breaks  down,  and  of  its  sweetness 
when  it  comes  to  wake  up  flowers  and  blossoms.  Some  of 
us  may  have  seen  it  in  poor,  lone,  agonised  sufferers  who 
held  fast  to  their  hope  in  God  and  repelled  every  doubt, 
and  we  wondered  how  their  faith  had  learned  to  begin  and 
maintain  its  hold.  It  was  the  "  good  pleasure  of  his  good- 
ness, and  the  work  of  faith  with  power."  The  case  of  this 
woman  is  one  of  these.  What  are  many  of  our  arguments 
but  doubts  answering  doubts,  the  taking  and  retaking  of 
outposts,  when  she  and  others  like  her  pass  right  into  the 
citadel  through  all  obstacles  and  enemies,  and  claim  for 
themselves  Him  who  alone  can  help  a  stricken  spirit! 
"  They  shall  come  from  the  east,  and  from  the  west,  and 
from  the  north,  and  from  the  south,  and  shall  sit  down  in 
the  kingdom  of  God."  "  And,  behold,  there  are  last  which 
shall  be  first,  and  there  are  first  which  shall  be  last." 

Another  thing  which  made  the  faith  of  this  woman 
remarkable  was  that  she  had  little  countenance  from  Christ's 
disciples.  It  is  very  strange  to  see  the  burning  love  of  the 
disciples  to  the  souls  of  men  after  the  ascension  of  Christ 
compared  with  their  coldness  while  He  himself  was  with 
them.  Think  of  how  they  pleaded  with  men  to  come  to  Him 
as  a  Prince  and  a  Saviour,  while  in  his  lifetime  they  often 
surrounded  Him  like  an  icy  wall  !  It  becomes  clear  to  those 
who  consider  it  that  something  very  decisive  had  happened 
in  the  interval  to  change  their  views  of  Christ's  relation 
to  men.  Nothing  less  than  his  death  and  resurrection  and 
the  disclosure  of  his  purposes  of  mercy  can  account  for 
this.    Observe  them  here  : — they  do  not,  indeed,  rebuke  the 


204  THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN. 

woman  as  they  rebuked  the  parents  who  brought  their 
children  to  Christ ;  they  only  ask  Him  to  send  her  away. 
In  all  charity  let  us  hope  that  they  wished  her  request  to 
be  granted  ;  but  the  reason  they  give  takes  the  heart  out  of 
their  petition — "  for  she  crieth  after  us."  It  appears  to  be 
not  so  much  sympathy  with  her  sorrow  as  annoyance  at  her 
importunity,  and  a  desire  to  be  freed  from  the  trouble  of 
her  presence.  No  doubt  she  felt  it,  felt  that  they  looked  on 
her  as  an  annoyance  and  a  shame  to  them,  and  that  they 
would  gladly  be  quit  of  her,  in  the  way  some  cast  an  alms 
to  a  persistent  beggar.  Weaker  faith  would  have  felt  the 
chill  which  surrounded  Him,  and  would  have  retired.  But 
it  is  not  from  them  that  she  expects  an  answer.  She  will  take 
it  from  none  but  Christ  himself,  and  she  presses  past  the 
disciples  into  his  presence — "  Lord,  to  whom  but  to  Thee  1 " 
And  is  there  not  a  lesson  here  for  us  Christians  as  to 
the  spirit  in  which  we  should  deal  with  those  who  are, 
as  it  is  called,  outside  1  Are  we  approaching  them  in  the 
spirit  of  the  disciples  before  the  day  of  Pentecost,  or  after 
it ;  with  the  heart  of  those  to  whom  the  cross  of  Christ 
had  as  yet  no  meaning,  or  of  those  to  whom  it  opened  the 
infinite  sympathy  and  long-suffering  of  God  1  If  we  carry 
the  Gospel  to  men  with  no  pity  in  our  own  souls  for  their 
misery,  but  merely  to  quiet  the  disturbance  of  their  cries, 
to  preserve  social  order,  and  save  ourselves  and  society 
from  danger,  we  cannot  expect  great  progress  in  our 
works.  Men  know  very  well  when  a  gift  comes  from  a 
loving  heart,  and  when  it  is  thrown  to  them  to  get  ease 
for  ourselves.  God  did  not  cast  down  his  benefits  from 
the  door  of  heaven ;  He  came  down  to  earth  with  his 
heart  in  them,  and  this  makes  the  difference  between  a 
benefit  and  a  blessing.  If  we  are  to  win  men  we  must 
go  to  them  in  Christ's  spirit  and,  as  it  were,  in  his  person. 
"  As  though  God  did  beseech  you  by  us ;  we  pray  you  in 


THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN.  205 

Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God."  And  yet  if  there 
are  any  who  keep  back  from  Christ,  because,  as  they  say, 
Christians  are  so  cold  and  inconsistent,  let  them  know 
from  the  example  of  this  woman  that  they  are  not  thereby 
excused.  Christ  invites  them  to  come  to  Himself,  to  judge 
of  Him  not  by  what  his  disciples  do,  but  by  what  He  him- 
self has  said  and  done.  "Look  unto  Me" — "  Come  unto 
Me,  weary,  heavy  laden  " — "  Him  that  cometh  to  Me  I  will 
in  no  wise  cast  out."  It  is  to  Him  at  last  we  have  to  give 
in  our  account,  and  we  cannot  be  justified  in  our  rejection 
of  Him,  until  we  have  taken  our  decisive  answer  from  no 
lips  but  his  own. 

And  yet  here  the  woman's  faith  reaches  its  greatest 
trial,  in  the  conduct  of  Christ.  The  disciples,  cold  as  the) 
are,  seem  merciful  compared  with  their  Master.  She 
breaks  through  outward  difficulties  to  find  an  iron  wall 
about  his  heart.  The  story  is  so  told  that  we  can  see  it 
in  each  appeal,  and  each  repulse.  As  she  cries,  and  pours 
her  heart  into  her  prayer,  He  is  moving  away  from  her 
with  silent  neglect.  "  He  answered  her  not  a  word,"  as 
if  she  were  not  only  beneath  help  but  beneath  being 
soothed  or  spoken  to.  Have  we  not  sometimes  felt 
this  ourselves,  when  we  have  prayed  to  God  in  our 
trouble  1  He  not  only  withheld  the  deliverance  we  asked, 
but  left  us  all  alone  with  our  bitter,  helpless  cries.  That 
dreadful  silence  of  God  !  it  is  harder  to  many  a  poor  heart 
than  the  sorest  word  which  can  be  spoken  :  "  0  Lord  my 
rock,  be  not  silent  to  me ;  lest,  if  Thou  be  silent  to  me, 
I  become  like  them  that  go  down  into  the  pit."  If  He 
would  only  speak,  though  it  were  to  reprove  me,  I  could 
bear  it.  "  Show  me  wherefore  Thou  contendest  with  me." 
Anything  but  this  stony  silence,  this  desolate  forsakenness 
which  gathers  round  me,  and  makes  me  ask  if  there  be  a  God 
who  cares  for  me  at  all.     This  woman  must  have  felt  it 


206  THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN. 

when  He  answered  her  not  a  word.  Still  she  cried  after 
Him,  and  at  last  He  spoke.  But  his  words,  were  they  not 
harder  than  his  silence  1  For  He  did  not  speak  to  her, 
but  only  of  her,  and  what  He  said  appears  to  quench 
all  hope.  "  He  answered  and  said,  I  am  not  sent  but 
unto  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel."  The  Son  of 
Man  is  come  to  seek  and  to  save  the  lost,  but  there  is  a 
chosen  flock,  beyond  which  He  cannot  meanwhile  go. 
"  Then  came  she  and  worshipped  Him,  saying,  Lord,  help 
me."  She  bent  before  Him,  cast  herself  on  the  ground  to 
bar  his  way,  and  so  she  waits  an  answer.  Does  she  drop 
the  title  "  Son  of  David,"  as  if  it  told  against  one  who 
belonged  to  the  Gentile  race  ;  or  is  it  the  emotion  of  her 
heart  which  makes  her  words  pass  into  broken  sobs, 
"  Lord,  help  me  "  1  At  length  she  draws  an  answer  from 
Him  to  herself :  "  It  is  not  meet  to  take  the  children's 
bread,  and  to  cast  it  to  dogs."  Are  these  the  words  of 
Jesus  Christ  1  They  startle  us  who  know  the  close  of  the 
contest  between  Him  and  this  suppliant  creature  ;  and  how 
must  they  have  been  listened  to  by  those  who  did  not 
know  the  end — with  wonder  by  the  disciples,  with  sinking 
of  heart  by  the  woman  ?  What  can  she  do,  but  rise  and 
leave  in  anguish,  if  not  in  anger  1  '  I  have  prayed  in  vain  ; 
thy  gifts  be  to  Thyself;  this  boasted  deliverer  is  as  hard 
as  He  is  helpless.'  So  it  would  have  been  with  ordinary 
human  nature,  so  it  might  have  been  with  many  a  one  of 
us.  But  Christ  knew  what  was  in  her  soul,  and  his  own 
hand  was  upholding  her  against  his  words.  "  Though 
Abraham  was  ignorant  of  her,  though  Israel  acknow- 
ledged her  not,"  the  faith  of  Abraham  was  in  her  heart, 
and  she  had  the  spirit  of  that  night-wrestler  who  con- 
tended with  the  Angel  of  the  covenant  and  prevailed  :  "  I 
will  not  let  Thee  go  until  Thou  bless  me."  And  she  said, 
"Truth,  Lord  :  yet  the  dogs  eat  of  the  crumbs  which  fall 


THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN.  207 

from  their  masters'  table."  It  is  marvellous.  There  is 
a  faith,  a  humility,  a  sacred  ingenuity  in  her  reply  which 
has  no  higher  example  in  the  Word  of  God.  A  dog,  yet 
the  dog  has  a  place  in  the  house,  and  has  its  claim 
on  the  master's  care.  She  yields  all,  and  in  the  same 
moment  gains  all.  It  was  for  this  victory  Christ  was  wait- 
ing, and  He  welcomed  it  and  gave  her  her  heart's  desire  : 
"  0  woman,  great  is  thy  faith  :  be  it  unto  thee  even  as 
thou  wilt."  And  when  He  grants  it,  He  raises  her  from 
the  ground  and  seats  her  at  the  table  and  gives  her  the 
children's  bread.  And  now,  as  of  another  woman,  it 
may  be  said,  "  Wheresoever  this  gospel  shall  be  preached 
throughout  the  whole  world,  this  also  that  she  hath  done 
shall  be  spoken  of  for  a  memorial  of  her."  Nor  is  it  written 
for  her  sake  alone ;  but  for  us  also  it  is  written,  "  The 
humble  shall  see  this  and  be  glad  ;  and  your  heart  shall 
live  that  seek  God." 

II.  We  shall  now,  as  it  were,  turn  a  page  and  look 
at  the  inner  side,  if  we  may  discover  what  helped  her 
faith  to  hold  on  and  triumph.  We  do  not  speak  of  the  first 
cause  of  all,  which  was  Christ's  eye  watching  her  steps,  and 
his  hand  bearing  her  up.  It  is  impossible  to  exclude  the 
divine  nature  of  Christ  in  considering  the  way  in  which  He 
deals  with  souls.  It  is  this  which  saves  his  conduct  from  the 
charge  of  hardness,  and  of  unnecessary  exposure  of  them  to 
fatal  peril.  He  knew  what  was  in  them  by  his  own  grace, 
and  He  knew  that  itcouldbe  maintained.  What  the  psalmist 
felt  was,  no  doubt,  time  of  her  :  "  My  soul  followeth  hard 
after  Thee ;  thy  right  hand  upholdeth  me."  We  do  greatly 
err  if  we  think  that,  when  we  seek  God,  we  are  self-sus- 
tained. It  is  He  who  holds  us  up  and  guides  us  to  find  Him- 
self. It  is  not,  however,  of  this  first  cause  we  speak,  but  of 
the  mediate  causes  by  which  this  woman's  faith  was  upheld. 


208  THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN. 

One  of  the  first  was  that  she  had  a  deep  home  and  heart 
sorroiv.  Her  daughter  lay  at  home  grievously  vexed  with 
a  devil.  A  malignant  disease  with  torturing  pangs  had 
seized  her  child,  pointing  directly  to  the  power  of  the 
wicked  one,  who  was  permitted  to  make  his  hand  more 
open  in  the  face  of  Him  who  came  to  challenge  his  power. 
Even  yet  there  are  calamities  which  speak  more  distinctly 
than  others  of  the  disorder  sin  has  brought  into  our 
world.  We  sometimes  see  suffering  so  deep,  so  long,  so 
apparently  meaningless,  that  we  cannot  connect  it  with 
any  natural  order  of  things,  or  with  a  moral  govern- 
ment in  a  sinless  state.  We  must  say,  "  An  enemy  hath 
done  this ;  this  is  the  hour  and  the  power  of  darkness." 
There  is,  indeed,  no  ground  for  connecting  special  suffer- 
ing with  special  sin ;  we  have  been  warned  against  this ; 
but  we  may  very  well  believe  that  sin  is  sometimes 
permitted  to  show  its  effects  in  terrible  shapes,  that  we 
may  be  driven  by  the  sight  to  the  only  refuge.  It  was 
so  with  this  woman.  She  had  in  her  home  and  heart 
a  terrible  and  constant  affliction.  She  had  tried  man's 
skill,  and  it  had  failed.  She  had  called  on  her  country's 
gods,  on  Baal  and  Ashtaroth,  but  they  were  as  deaf 
as  in  the  days  of  old  Elijah.  If  she  had  known  of 
Epicurus  with  his  divinities  above  the  clouds  who  do 
not  trouble  themselves  with  human  sorrow,  or  of  the 
pitiless  Fate  of  the  Stoics  who  bid  us  submit  to  the 
inevitable,  would  it  have  quieted  her  heart  when  it  was 
agonised  by  her  daughter's  moans  ?  But  a  new  name 
was  now  heard  in  the  world,  a  wonderful  soul  of  com- 
passion seemed  to  be  moving  among  human  diseases  and 
sorrows,  and  word  of  it  had  crossed  the  heathen  border 
and  reached  her  ears.  Something  told  her  that,  if  what 
she  had  heard  were  true,  there  was  hope  here,  after 
despair — a  plank   of   deliverance    after  utter   shipwreck, 


THE  WOMAN  OF  CAN  A  AX.  OQQ 

It  was  this  which  nerved  her  hand  to  cling.     Can  she  go 
back  to  her  dreary  home  and  look  on  her  daughter's  con- 
vulsions and  listen,  helpless,  to  her  cries  %      The  torture 
of  her  child   is  in  her   heart,  pleads   through    her,  and 
presses  her  petition  till  it  is  granted.    And  when  she  gains 
it  she  secures  a  blessing  for  herself.    For  saving  faith  begins 
oftentimes  id  some  crisis  of  the  life  in  which  the  soul  casts 
itself  on  Christ  as  far  as  He  is  known,  and  then  it  learns  to 
trust  Him  with  all.   The  door  of  hope  in  the  valley  of  Achor 
becomes  an  entrance  to  Him  who  says,  "  I  am  the  door  :  by 
Me  if  any  man  enter  in,  he  shall  be  saved  ;"  and  so  this 
woman  returned  to  a  changed  home  with  a  changed  heart. 
Now,  if  there  be  any  with  trouble  in  the  soul  for  which 
they  have  found  as  yet  no  cure,  is  it  not  for  this  it  has 
been    sent  ?     It    may  be    some  shadow  of  fear   or  grief 
thrown  in  from  without ;  it  may  be  some  deep  wound  of 
the  conscience  when  sin  is  realised  in  its  guilt,  some  faint- 
ing of  the  spirit  before  the  yawning  hollow  of  a  world 
in  which  there  is  no  divine  Friend ;  whatever  it  be,  do 
not  let  it  quit  its  hold  of  you,  until  you  have  laid  hold  of 
the  great  Helper.     Beware  of  forgetting  it,  of  having  it 
drowned  in  the  world's  noise,  or  discouraged  by  seeming 
delays.     If  you  have  some  grief  where  all  other  help  has 
failed,  turn  your  ear  inward  till  the  sense  of  it  urges  the 
appeal,  Lord,  help  me !     The  greater  the  feeling  of  the 
trouble,  the  more  surely  will  it  carry  you  into  the  presence 
of  the  only  Saviour.     There  are  easy  paths  in  life  when 
men  feel  as  if  they  could  do  without  a  God,  and  there  are 
smooth   speeches  of  the   conscience  when  they  persuade 
themselves  they  do  not  need  the  ransom  of  a  Eedeemer ; 
but  when  the  heart  is  convulsed  with  grief,  when  the  con- 
science is  stirred  into  storm,  the  deep  currents  of  the  soul 
will  bear  men,   if  they  will  yield  to  them,  on  to  Jesus 
Christ,  and  to  none  but  Him. 

0 


210  THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN. 

Next,  this  woman's  faith  was  strong  because  she  had 
learned  to  take  a  very  humble  view  of  herself.  She  has  no 
plea  but,  Have  mercy  on  me !  no  appeal  but  to  her  misery, 
with  that  upcast  look  to  Christ's  face,  Lord  help  me  ! 
And  when  He  seems  to  spurn  her  and  take  up  the  language 
of  the  common  Jew,  who  spoke  of  the  Gentile  as  a  dog,  she 
accepts  the  name,  and  founds  an  argument  upon  it.  The 
reproachful  word  has  nothing  in  it  which  she  had  not  felt 
in  her  own  heart.  How  she  got  her  spirit  of  humility  it 
is  impossible  to  say.  God's  Spirit  must  have  been  her 
teacher,  and  his  first  lesson  is  to  convince  of  sin.  There 
are  times  when  a  soul  enlightened  by  God  feels  that 
nothing  can  be  said  of  it  which  it  is  not  ready  to  say  of 
itself.  We  have  made  such  a  miserable  return  to  God  ;  we 
have  so  defaced  and  defiled  the  nature  He  gave  us  ;  such 
mean  and  selfish  and  unholy  thoughts  have  festered  and 
swarmed  within  us,  that  the  words  of  the  Psalmist  rise 
to  our  lips,  ' "  So  foolish  was  I  and  ignorant ;  I  was  as  a 
beast  before  Thee."  These  poor  dumb  creatures  do  their 
part  in  the  world  better  than  I.  I  am  higher,  and  so  I 
have  made  myself  lower.  If  I  could  only  yield  to  God 
the  unquestioning  obedience,  the  affectionate  trustfulness 
which  a  dog  yields  to  its  master,  how  much  worthier  a 
place  I  should  fill  in  the  world  than  now  I  do  !  '  Some 
of  us  may  have  felt  this ;  which  of  us  should  not  feel  it  ? 
but  who  could  bear  to  be  told  it,  and  to  answer,  Truth, 
Lord  1 

But,  then,  there  is  the  dignity  of  human  nature  !  Does 
not  the  Bible  say,  Eemember  this,  and  show  yourselves 
men  1  And  it  is  true  ;  but  to  show  ourselves  men  in 
God's  sight  is  to  humble  ourselves.  An  old  writer  has 
said,  "  There  are  times  when  we  must  be  a  man,  and  no 
worm,  but  there  are  times  when  we  must  be  a  worm, 
and  no   man."     To  come  into  the  view  of   that  infinite 


THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN.  211 

purity  and  be  abased,  is  the  only  way  to  rise  to  it.  We 
are  on  the  path  to  the  dignity  of  human  nature,  when  we 
see  the  indignity  we  have  done  to  God  and  to  ourselves. 
It  is  not  till  the  prodigal  sees  his  sin  and  shame  among 
the  husks  and  swine  that  he  comes  to  himself — to  his 
true  and  proper  self — remembers  his  sonship,  and  says, 
"  I  will  arise  and  go  to  my  father."  As  humility  goes  deep 
down,  faith  rises  up  high  and  strong,  for  humility  furnishes 
the  roots  by  which  faith  holds  on.  If  you  would  come  to 
Christ,  you  must  let  humility  take  faith  by  the  hand  and 
lead  it  to  Him,  and  then  He  will  lead  faith  to  God,  and 
open  to  it  all  the  treasure-house  of  grace  :  "  For  thus 
saith  the  high  and  lofty  One  that  inhabiteth  eternity, 
whose  name  is  Holy  :  I  dwell  in  the  high  and  holy  place, 
with  him  also  that  is  of  a  contrite  and  humble  spirit."  It 
is  by  this  wonderful  also — with  him  also — that  faith  passes 
from  defeat,  and  even  from  despair,  to  victory.  If  we 
could  but  use  the  word  "  yet "  as  she  uses  it,  we  should,  like 
her,  gain  all  when  we  surrender  all.  "  Truth,  Lord ;  yet !" 
"  I  am  poor  and  needy,  yet  the  Lord  thinketh  upon  me." 
"  I  said,  I  am  cast  out  of  thy  sight ;  yet  I  will  look  again 
toward  thy  holy  temple." 

Lastly,  her  faith  was  so  strong  because  it  had  hold  oj 
another  Christ,  greater  and  more  merciful  than  her  eyes  saw.. 
But  for  this,  she  could  never  have  persevered, — unless  her 
soul, by  some  secret  reasoning  or  divinely-given  instinct,  had 
found  out  a  heart  of  sympathy  beneath  the  looks  and  words 
which  covered  it.  We  cannot  help  poring  over  the  nar- 
rative, and  wondering  if  there  was  any  ray  of  hope  allowed 
to  escape  through  the  thick  folds  of  indifference  in  which 
He  had  wrapped  Himself — any  board  or  broken  piece  of  the 
ship  to  cling  to  in  her  death-struggle.  Was  it  possible  to 
draw  comfort  from  the  way  in  which  He  speaks  of  the 
Jews?     With  all  their  gainsaying  and  rebellion,  they  are 


212  THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN. 

still  "  the  children."  Or  is  it  possible  that  there  was 
something  in  the  word  dogs  being  a  diminutive,  and  having 
a  touch  of  pity  in  it  1  It  is  the  "  little  dogs/'  which 
belong  to  the  house,  and  are  therefore  the  objects  of  kindly 
care.  Certain  it  is  that  her  woman's  heart  seized  this 
point,  and  that  through  the  chink  her  faith  glided  into 
his  heart's  citadel,  and  gained  the  day.  She  could  not 
have  found  it  had  He  not  left  it  open.  Or  were  there 
not  suppressed  undertones  of  pity  which  her  heart,  rather 
than  her  ear,  caught  trembling  in  his  voice — relenting 
looks  of  sympathy  which  her  soul,  more  than  her  eye, 
saw  in  his  face,  breaking  beforehand  like  sunbeams  through 
a  cloud  they  are  about  to  scatter  ?  In  any  case  we  know 
that  she  had  already  learned  some  things  about  Christ 
which  her  faith  could  use  as  a  support  under  her  repulse. 
She  had  heard  of  his  works  and  how  He  had  helped 
others.  She  knew  something  of  his  errand  as  the  Son  of 
David.  There  was  a  reasoning  of  the  heart  which  told  her 
that  a  mercy  like  his  could  not  be  limited  to  place  or 
nation,  and  so  she  set  her  trust  in  his  nature  above  the 
coldness  of  his  demeanour,  and  cast  herself  at  his  feet  in 
the  spirit  of  the  ancient  sufferer,  "  Though  He  slay  me, 
yet  will  I  trust  in  Him." 

In  what  way  soever  she  had  learned  it,  her  faith  went 
beyond  appearances,  and  fixed  on  something  in  Christ 
which  her  soul  told  her  must  be  true  and  real ;  in  some 
such  way  as  the  needle  will  turn  to  the  pole,  though 
testing  fingers  may  turn  it  aside,  and  winds  blow  and 
thwart  it  in  its  struggle.  If  you  ask,  as  Nicodemus  did, 
How  can  these  things  be  1  we  can  only  answer,  God  has 
so  made  the  soul  of  man.  There  is  a  world  of  atoms  and 
forces  with  their  gravitating  law ;  but  there  is  a  world 
also  of  souls  which  has  its  attracting  power,  and  which 
will  lead  those  who  yield  to  it  on  to  the  Father  of  spirits, 


THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN.  213 

whose  heart  is  felt  in  Jesus  Christ.  It  leads  by  a  way  which 
the  lion's  whelps,  if  we  may  use  the  figure — the  strong 
assurances  of  the  senses — have  not  trodden,  which  the 
"  eagle's  eye  " — the  keen  vision  of  science — has  not  seen  ; 
"  God  understandeth  the  way  thereof,  and  He  knoweth 
the  place  thereof ; "  and  He  can  touch  human  souls  and 
make  them  sure  of  the  road  and  the  end.  It  is  by 
reason  of  this  divine  gift,  even  in  its  lower  form, 
that  wherever  we  find  men  they  are  capable  of  going 
beyond  things  seen  and  temporal,  to  things  unseen  and 
eternal.  Those  who  deny  these  things  prove,  in  their 
denial,  the  power  to  think  of  them.  And,  if  we  would  but 
think  deeply  and  tenderly,  our  thoughts  would  lead  us  on. 
In  spite  of  all  the  pressure  of  material  laws,  often  so  cold 
and  crushing,  there  is  in  man  what  the  poet  calls  "  the 
heat  of  inward  evidence,  by  which  he  doubts  against  the 
sense."  The  persuasion  grows  that  there  is  more  in  the 
universe  than  he  sees,  and  that  what  he  does  not  see  is 
better  and  higher,  and  more  akin  to  him,  than  all  that 
meets  his  eye.  It  is  this  which  prevents  men  from  believ- 
ing, in  their  deepest  moments,  that  the  evil  comes  from 
God — which  enables  them  to  cling,  in  their  sorest  trials,  to 
the  faith  that  "  Behind  a  frowning  providence  He  hides  a 
smiling  face,"  and  that,  though  "  He  chastens  them  sore, 
He  will  not  give  them  over  unto  death."  Thick  thunder- 
clouds of  Atheism  and  Pessimism  sometimes  hang  lower- 
ing over  the  earth,  and  threaten  to  quench  all  the  higher 
hope  ;  but  God  has  given  to  the  spirit  a  power  by  which 
it  can  pass  up  through  them  and  sing  like  the  lark  in  the 
sunshine  and  the  blue  sky.  It  is  the  work  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  to  educate  and  strengthen  it  by  drawing  it, 
often  through  much  tribulation,  to  Himself.  This  history 
has  been  given  to  us  as  a  glass  wherein  we  may  see  the 
way  in  which  He  deals  with  many  souls  still,  that  we  may 


214  THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN. 

not  think  some  strange  thing  has  happened  to  ns  in  the 
trial  of  onr  faith,  and  that  we  may  hope  to  the  end  for 
the  grace  He  will  bring.  He  gives  faith  ground  for  trust- 
ing Him,  tries  it  whether  it  will  trust  Him  with  all,  hides 
Himself  that  it  may  find  Him,  puts  difficulties  in  its  way 
that  it  may  break  through  them,  makes  Himself  stern  that 
it  may  wrestle  with  Him,  and  then,  when  He  yields,  faith 
is  stronger,  and  a  grander  Christ  is  revealed  than  the  eye 
had  seen.  His  aim  is  to  bring  faith  to  the  resolve  of 
another  daughter  of  the  Gentiles  long  before :  "  Entreat 
me  not  to  leave  thee,  or  to  return  from  following  after 
thee  :  for  whither  thou  goest,  I  will  go ;  and  where  thou 
lodgest,  I  will  lodge  :  where  thou  cliest,  will  I  die,  and 
there  will  I  be  buried  :  the  Lord  do  so  to  me,  and  more 
also,  if  aught  but  death  part  thee  and  me ; "  or  to  the 
clearer  resolve  of  the  apostle,  who  saw  through  death  to 
life :  "  Whether  I  live,  I  live  unto  the  Lord  :  or  whether  I 
die,  I  die  unto  the  Lord ;  living  or  dying,  I  am  the  Lord's." 
And  now  that  we  have  looked  at  the  hindrances  and 
helps  to  the  faith  of  this  woman,  let  us  put  her  example 
to  its  use.  First,  let  us  give  our  soul  into  the  hand  of 
Christ,  as  we  have  been  taught  clearly  how  to  do,  knowing 
Him  whom  we  trust,  and  being  persuaded  that  "  He  is  able 
to  keep  that  which  we  commit  unto  Him  ; "  and  then  let 
us  confide  to  Him  every  care  and  trial,  whether  they  touch 
our  outward  or  our  inward  life.  Let  us  go  with  humble 
thoughts  of  self,  and  high  thoughts  of  Him;  and  let 
us  hold  on  in  trust  amidst  delays  and  seeming  repulses. 
He  conceals  his  purpose  for  a  while,  to  surprise  us  with 
more  than  we  could  ask  or  think.  We  read  of  Joseph 
that  before  he  made  himself  known  unto  his  brethren, 
"  he  made  himself  strange,  and  spoke  roughly  unto  them, 
and  turned  himself  about  from  them  and  wept,  and 
returned    to    them    a^ain    and    communed    with   them." 


THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN.  215 

When  we  call  up  the  scene  we  sometimes  wonder  if  their 
hearts  did  not  yearn  to  his,  though  it  was  hidden  under 
that  Egyptian  mantle  j  and  although  the  tears  were  dried 
on  his  face,  and  his  voice  made  cold  again,  did  they  not 
whisper  to  themselves,  '  May  not  this  be  Joseph,  our 
long-lost  brother  1 '  Nature  has  wonderful  instincts,  but 
grace  is  still  more  marvellous  and  sure.  If  we  have 
learned  to  know  the  Divine  Friend  even  in  a  dim  and 
feeble  way,  it  will  help  us  to  wait  for  Him  when  He  is 
under  the  veil  of  strange  and  stern  events,  until  his  voice 
is  recognised  from  out  the  cloud :  "  It  is  I,  be  not 
afraid."  And  then  we  shall  receive  Him  gladly,  and  be 
immediately  at  the  land  where  faith  passes  into  blessed 
vision  :  "  Ye  now  have  sorrow ;  but  I  will  see  you  again, 
and  your  heart  shall  rejoice,  and  your  joy  no  man  taketh 
from  you."  Wherefore,  "  Wait  on  the  Lord ;  be  of  good 
courage,  and  He  shall  strengthen  thine  heart  :  wait,  I  say, 
on  the  Lord  " 


XV. 

THE  LORD'S  QUESTION  TO  MARY.1 

"Jesus  salth  unto  her,  Woman,  why  weepest  thou?  whom  seekest 
thou?" — John  xx.  15. 

Through  all  the  first  Sabbath  after  the  crucifixion  of 

our  Lord,  we  have  no  trace  of  his  disciples.     A  terrible 

cloud  had  fallen  on  their  hopes,  and  they  were  brooding 

over  their  past  in  darkness  and  silence.    At  the  end  of  the 

Sabbath,  when  it  began  to  dawn  toward  the  first  day  of 

the    week,    some   of  them   went    to  visit  the  sepulchre. 

Those  of  us  who  for  the  first  time  have  traversed  the 

road  which  leads  to  the  new  and  strange  home  where  our 

dead  lie,  can  understand  their  feeling;  when  the  heart 

tries  to  pierce  the  grave  and  see  the  face  which  in  so  short 

a  time  has  been  put  so  far  away,  and  when  the  thought  of 

what  is  lost  and  lying  below  the  ground  hides  what  is 

before  and  above.     They  came  and  looked,  and  perplexity 

was  added  to  their  grief;  for  the  sepulchre  was  empty, 

and  the  body  of  their  Lord  and  Master  was  gone  no  one 

could  tell  them  whither.     They  lingered  for  a  while  and 

left,  all  save  one.     Love  may  be  equal  in  sincerity,  but  it 

may  differ   in  intensity;    and  the    deepest  love  has  the 

reward  of  the  first  and  farthest  vision.     Mary  Magdalene 

remained,  and  stood  without  the  sepulchre  weeping.     It 

was  true  of  her,  as  of  another  woman,  that  she  had  been 

forgiven  much,  and  she  loved  much.     She  stooped  and 

looked  again,  with  the  wish  to  see  the  place,  if  she  might 

not  see  Him ;  or  with  a  hope  which  reason  told  her  all 

1  Preached  in  Eyre  Place  Church,  Edinburgh,  on  the  occasion 
of  the  death  of  John  Brown,  M.D.,  May  21,  1882. 


THE   LORD'S    QUESTION    TO    MARY.  217 

the  while  was  hopeless.  The  place  was  still  empty,  but 
at  the  head  and  foot,  like  God's  heavenly  guards,  when 
the  keepers  had  fled,  were  two  angels  in  white.  They  put 
the  question  to  her,  "  Woman,  why  weepest  thou  1 "  a 
question  of  pity  such  as  angels  may  feel  at  the  sight  of 
human  sorrow,  but  with  no  authority  to  add  the  question 
of  hope  which  must  come  from  the  Saviour  himself. 
Mary  answered  naturally,  as  if  to  a  human  questioner, 
"  They  have  taken  away  my  Lord,  and  I  know  not  where 
they  have  laid  Him."  If  she  felt  surprise  or  fear,  it  is  not 
recorded.  Either  she  did  not  recognise  them,  at  first,  for 
what  they  were,  or  the  convulsion  of  feeling  in  her  soul 
made  her  think  nothing  strange.  There  are  moments  of 
agony  which  bring  a  paralysis  of  calm,  and  neither  wonder 
nor  terror  would  be  felt  if  the  unseen  were  to  open.  She 
turned  again  from  the  grave,  and  Jesus  himself  stood 
beside  her ;  but  she  knew  not  that  it  was  Jesus.  The 
mists  of  morning  still  lingering,  the  change  in  his  face  and 
form  as  He  hovered  between  two  worlds,  passing  from  his 
cross  to  his  throne, — and,  with  these,  the  absorption  of 
her  heart,  which  still  sought  its  lost  among  the  dead,  pre- 
vented her  from  recognising  Him.  It  was  in  this  moment 
of  doubt  and  bewilderment  that  He  put  the  question 
which  we  shall  here  consider — a  question  not  only  of 
pity,  like  that  of  the  angels,  Why  weepest  thou  1  but  a 
question  of  hope  and  guidance,  Whom  seekest  thou  ?  We 
shall  try  to  lift  it  out  of  the  circumstances  of  the  nar- 
rative, while  we  preserve  its  spirit ;  and  we  shall  look 
at  some  of  those  to  whom  it  may  be  still  addressed,  at 
the  answer  which  is  implied  in  its  form,  and  at  some 
things  worthy  of  notice  in  the  recognition  which  followed. 
First.  Let  us  look  at  some  of  those  to  ivhom  this  question 
may  be  still  addressed.  There  is  a  sense  in  which  it  may  be 
put  to  all  men  in  as  far  as  they  have  not  yet  found  rest 


218  THE   LORD'S    QUESTION   TO    MARY. 

for  their  souls  in  God.  Man's  heart  lost  the  true  centre  of 
life  and  peace  when  it  abandoned  Him,  and  to  this  at  last 
it  comes — a  sepulchre  where  its  dead  desire  has  been 
buried,  and  it  looks  in  and  finds  it  empty  and  bare,  with- 
out the  Saviour's  memory  and  the  angels'  presence.  If 
God  be  in  the  heart,  there  are  many  ways  in  which  a  man 
may  enjoy  and  serve  Him ;  and,  if  God  be  absent,  there 
are  as  many  by  which  he  may  seek  to  fill  up  the  vacant 
place.  Power,  fame,  worldly  pleasure,  knowledge  and 
affection  limited  to  the  human  sphere,  are  some  of  the 
things  which  men  cast  into  the  felt  void  in  hope  to  fill  it. 
For  a  while  they  are  deceived  by  the  ardour  of  pursuit, 
or  the  first  glow  of  possession ;  they  benumb  the  pain  and 
forget  the  loss.  But  God,  in  these  things  too,  does  not 
leave  Himself  without  a  witness.  There  comes  the  fre- 
quent disappointment,  *  the  check,  the  change,  the  fall," 
the  death  of  their  hope,  their  grief  before  its  grave.  The 
object  they  coveted  is  taken  away,  or,  if  it  remains,  the  joy 
of  its  promise  is  felt  to  be  false  and  empty.  And  so,  if 
their  nature  be  of  the  common  superficial  kind,  they  begin 
the  chase  after  new  shadows,  and  fulfil  the  old  picture  of 
the  languid  worldling  who  will  not  learn  :  "  Thou  art 
wearied  in  the  greatness  of  thy  way,  yet  saidst  thou  not, 
There  is  no  hope."  Or,  if  the  nature  be  deeper,  they  turn 
in  upon  themselves  to  lament  the  vanity  of  human 
endeavour  and  the  misery  of  the  soul,  with  its  infinite 
desires  hemmed  in  and  mocked  by  the  finite  and  perishing 
— fatal  shipwrecks  of  cherished  hopes  in  mid-sea,  or  landings 
on  dreary  desert  shores,  where  life  has  lost  its  highest  in- 
terest and  meaning.  Is  not  this  the  case  of  many  if  they 
would  but  speak  aloud,  or  confess  it  to  themselves — Mary 
before  the  sepulchre,  without  the  consciousness  of  her  loss, 
or  the  search  for  her  Lord  1  And  yet  the  Christ  is  there, 
near  the  place  where  they  are  groping  among  the  ashes  of 


THE   LORDS   QUESTION   TO   MARY.  219 

buried  hopes.  He  is  seeking  them,  though  they  see  Him 
not ;  and  these  deaths  of  desire  come  to  them  to  make 
them  feel  after  and  find  Him.  "  "Why  weepest  thou  1 
whom  seekest  thou  \" 

There  is,  however,  another  class  to  whom  the  question 
may  be  put  more  directly,  as  being  more  nearly  in  the 
case  of  Mary  at  the  grave  of  Christ.  Some,  like  her, 
have  had  a  deep  sense  of  the  soul's  exceeding  value,  and 
of  Christ  as  a  friend  who  could  meet  its  need.  But  they 
seem  to  have  lost  Him.  The  Christian  life  has  its 
changes.  Those  who  speak  of  it  as  an  unclouded  walk, 
an  unbroken  assurance,  offend  against  the  generation  of 
God's  children.  What  makes  the  book  of  Psalms  a 
Christian  book  for  all  time,  but  that  its  cries  out  of  the 
depth  still  find  an  echo  in  the  souls  of  many  who  seek 
after  God  1  What  makes  the  Gospel  record  a  mirror  of 
the  spiritual  life  of  the  universal  church,  but  that  we  can 
recognise  ourselves  in  the  disciples  of  Christ,  left  alone  by 
Him  in  the  storm,  crying  out  for  fear  of  Him  when  we 
mistake  his  face,  chiding  -his  absence  when  our  friends 
are  dying,  and  despairing  of  his  cause  when  He  bears 
once  more  his  cross  and  his  shame  %  May  we  not  appeal 
to  your  own  experience,  and  ask  if  you  have  not  felt  it  so  1 
You  have  had  your  hours  of  darkness  as  well  as  of  light, 
seasons  when  the  candle  of  the  Lord  was  shining  on  your 
head  and  your  path  was  clear;  but  seasons,  also,  when 
you  had  to  grope  out  your  road  with  both  your  hands, 
and  pray,  "  Lighten  mine  eyes,  0  Lord,  lest  I  sleep  the 
sleep  of  death."  May  we  not  remind  you  of  the  experi- 
ence of  Christ  himself,  who  had  to  pass  through  a  night 
where  He  saw  neither  moon  nor  stars,  and  cried,  "My 
God,  my  God  !  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me '? "  He  had 
something  to  bear  for  us  which  we  cannot  share,  but 
something,  also,  in  which  we  may  touch  the  edge  of  his 


220  THE  LORD'S  QUESTION  TO  MARY. 

terrible  eclipse.  It  is  very  hard  and  bitter;  to  have 
seen  the  most  blessed  of  all  sights,  a  Father  in  heaven,  and 
opening  behind  his  face  an  eternal  home,  and  then  to  feel, 
or  to  fear,  that  we  have  lost  them.  It  may  come  in 
different  ways  ;  it  may  be  through  a  shaking  of  our  faith 
in  the  divine  and  eternal  as  real,  or  it  may  be  through  a 
loss  of  our  own  personal  hold  of  them,  or,  as  often  happens, 
through  an  intermingling  of  both.  But,  however  it  comes, 
whether  as  it  seems  from  heaven  above  or  earth  beneath, 
it  is  a  horror  of  great  darkness,  and  those  who  feel  it  are 
of  all  men  most  miserable.  Now,  in  these  days  of  rebuke 
and  blasphemy,  when  the  great  stone  is  once  more  rolled 
to  the  grave  of  Christ,  and  men  put  their  seal  on  it,  when 
there  are  anxious  hearts  to  which  his  memory  is  dearer 
than  all  the  world's  hopes,  here  is  a  question  which  was 
put  by  Himself  in  a  cloudy  and  dark  day  to  a  downcast, 
desponding  spirit.  The  cause  of  the  Gospel  was  never  so 
despaired  of  as  in  the  hour  of  its  birth,  and  the  question 
which  was  then  put  by  its  Lord  may  be  repeated  for  the 
encouragement  of  those  who  are  seeking  Him  whom  they 
seem  to  have  lost :  "  Why  weepest  thou  1  whom  seekest 
thou?" 

But  there  is  still  another  class  to  whom  the  question 
may  be  put,  and  we  mention  them  that  we  may  not 
exclude  any.  There  may  be  Christians  who  are  beyond 
Mary's  position,  who  have  the  comfort  of  knowing  that 
they  have  not  only  a  dead  but  a  risen  Lord,  who  can 
pierce  with  the  eye  of  faith  the  cloud  which  closed  the 
door  of  heaven  upon  Him,  and  who  can  see  Him  preparing 
to  reopen  it  and  come  to  make  all  things  new.  Yet  even 
they  are  not  beyond  this  question.  Have  they  realised 
Him  in  their  own  life,  in  the  power  of  his  resurrection, 
and  looked  so  steadfastly  on  the  face  of  the  ascended 
Christ  that  their  face  shines  with    his   likeness,  and  that 


THE  LORD'S  QUESTION  TO  MARY.  221 

the  spirit  of  glory  and  of  God  is  resting  on  them  ?  We 
may  have  seen  Him  in  his  risen  majesty,  but,  for  our- 
selves, we  are  still  on  this  side  death,  tainted  with  earth 
and  sin.  A  little  view  of  his  greatness  made  one  of  his 
disciples  say,  "  Depart  from  me ;  for  I  am  a  sinful  man,  0 
Lord;"  and  the  sight  of  it,  with  the  spiritual  eye,  filled 
the  apostle  with  an  eager  longing,  "If  by  any  means  I 
might  attain  unto  the  resurrection  of  the  dead."  There 
are  times  when  evil  around  and  evil  within  make  Chris- 
tian men  feel  this  so  strongly  that  it  rises  to  a  pain, 
and  is  heard  in  a  cry,  "  0  wretched  man  that  I  am !  who 
shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death  1 " — looking 
for  the  blessed  hope  and  glorious  appearing  which  shall 
bring  in  this  great  and  joyful  change.  We  have  too  little 
of  this  sacred  sorrow  and  high  desire,  but,  if  there  are 
those  who  feel  it,  the  question  comes  to  them  with  a 
promise  in  it,  "  Ye  now  therefore  have  sorrow ;  but  I  will 
see  you  again,  and  your  heart  shall  rejoice,  and  your  joy 
no  man  taketh  from  you."  Why  weepest  thou1?  whom 
seekest  thou1? 

Second,  we  come  to  the  answer,  which  is  contained  in  the 
form  of  the  question.  When  we  look  at  it,  we  see  that  the 
question  is  composed  of  two  parts,  and  that  the  one  is 
connected  with  the  other.  The  first  part  directs  us 
inward  to  our  own  heart,  with  its  want  and  sorrow,  the 
other,  outward  to  what  is  to  meet  and  relieve  it.  It  was 
not  without  a  purpose  that  the  Lord  put  it  in  this  form  to 
Mary.  He  surely  meant  that  the  multitude  of  her  thoughts 
within  her  should  be  drawn  out  and  fixed  on  the  thought 
of  Himself,  and  that  doubt  might  feel  its  way  to  faith 
before  faith  ended  in  sight.  And  still  there  are  these 
two  witnesses,  the  soul's  cry  within,  Christ's  voice  without, 
and  their  testimony  agrees.     Let  us  look  at  them. 

It   may   be   that   it   is  speculative  unbelief  which  is 


222  THE  LORD'S  QUESTION  TO  MARY. 

troubling  your  soul,  the  fear  that  the  resurrection  and  the 
life  which  you  had  hoped  for  in  Christ  have  no  reality, 
that  there  may  be  no  voice  of  God  in  this  world,  or  no 
God  to  speak.  Observe,  then,  how  in  all  the  works  of 
creation  around  us,  and  in  the  nature  of  man,  there  is  an 
agreement  between  the  inner  need  and  cry,  and  the  outer 
provision.  There  is  everywhere  in  life  an  effort  at 
advance,  and  a  preparation  to  welcome  and  answer  it. 
The  seed  hidden  beneath  the  clod  has  its  brooding  secret 
which  cries  for  help  to  disclose  itself,  and  to  reach  the 
perfection  of  its  nature;  and  the  voices  of  spring  are 
soliciting  it  above,  the  showers,  the  soft  breezes,  the  gentle 
influences  of  the  sky.  Everywhere  there  is  seed  and 
climate,  and  every  climate  matures  its  own  seed.  Or 
observe  the  eye,  with  its  delicate  and  complicated 
organism,  and  the  light  of  day  so  sweet,  so  pleasant,  like 
some  angelic  minister  leading  it  out  through  all  the  fields 
of  earth  and  heaven.  There  are,  in  our  daily  life,  hunger 
and  bread,  thirst  and  water,  the  breathing  frame  and  the 
vital  air,  and  the  manifold  necessities  and  supplies  which 
are  like  prayers  and  answers  in  every  place  and  through 
all  time.  And,  beneath  us,  there  are  the  innumerable 
instincts  of  the  smallest  creatures,  so  strange  oftentimes, 
so  mysterious,  yet  not  one  of  them  made  to  be  dis- 
appointed, as  if  their  necessities  were  a  look  and  cry  to  an 
unfailing  hand,  "  These  wait  all  on  Thee." 

If  a  man  will  say  there  is  no  thought  or  plan  in  this, 
then  there  is  no  more  any  room  for  argument ;  it  must  be 
decided  ultimately  by  each  man's  spiritual  vision ;  but  let 
it  be  understood  that  it  is  a  question  on  which  the 
humblest  mind  can  form  its  own  independent  judgment, 
and  form  it  quite  as  surely  when  it  is  unblinded  by  the 
microscopic  dust  of  details.  Or,  if  a  man  will  say  that  all 
this  has  arranged  itself  by  some  cunning  mechanism  of 


THE  LORD'S  QUESTION  TO  MARY.  223 

Nature's  laws  through  which  instinct  and  object  act  and 
react  until  they  create  their  mutual  adaptation,  and  har- 
moniously fit  into  each  other;— yet  still   the  great  fact 
remains,  that  so  it  is ;  every  want  has  its  provision,  every 
instinct  points  to  an  object  and  end  out  of,  and  beyond, 
itself.     And  let  us  ask  ourselves,  if  it  be  so  in  the  lower 
wants,  shall  it  fail  to  approve  itself  in  the  higher  1     Shall 
a  wise  and  provident  nature,  to  call  it  by  no  better  name, 
show  itself  perfect  in  every  step  of  its  meaner  mechanism, 
and  then  call  out  the  deepest  desires  and  loftiest  aspirations 
only  to  visit  them  with  disappointment  and  defeat  1     Or, 
may  we  not  pass  to  more  fitting  language'?     Shall  God 
have  regard  to  the  animal  necessities  and  turn  a  deaf  ear 
to  the  cries  of  the  soul,  to  those  longings    so  unutter- 
ably profound,  which,  in  our  calmest  and  most  impartial 
communings  with  our  spirits,  we  feel  to  be  so  true  and 
real  1     A  universe  so  carefully  constructed,  or  developed 
if  you  will,  in  all  its  other  parts,  cannot  at  last  fail  in  its 
topmost  blossom  and  crown.     The  ear  which  hears  the 
young  raven's  cry  cannot  be  deaf  to  the  sobs  and  prayers 
of  human  hearts.     And  let  it  be  considered  that  these 
prayers  in  their  best  moments  are  not  for  a  mere  immortal 
existence,  a  life  of  self,  but  for  a  life  in  God,  which,  from 
its  very  nature,  must  be  an  eternal  life.     When  Mary 
sought   his   grave,  it  was  not  for  herself,  but  for  Him— to 
see  Him  living,  if  it  might  be,  and  to  forget  all  else  as  she 
cast  herself  at  his  feet ;  if  this  might  not  be,  life  had  for 
her  no  more  aim.     And  let  us  thank  God  that  He  has 
made  the  soul  so  that  when  it  is  truly  wakened  by  Him- 
self, none  but  Himself  can  satisfy  its  need.     It  must  press 
through    his  works,  through    his  laws,  to  the  living  God, 
without  whom  the  universe  would  be  a  vast  sepulchre,  and 
immortality  a  perpetual  weeping  before  it.     If  there  are 
such  breathings  of  desire  in  human  spirits,  and  nothing 


224  THE  LORD'S  QUESTION  TO  MARY. 

can  be  surer  than  that  they  have  been  and  are,  there  must 
be  an  object  and  end  for  them.  If  we  have  felt  them  in 
any  way,  as  our  souls  open  inward,  we  shall  find  a  reality 
in  Him  who  can  interpret,  and  meet  them  as  no  other  can. 
The  word  is  nigh  thee,  even  in  thy  heart,  and  then  the 
living  Word  himself  is  near  who  answers  it :  "  Why 
weepest  thou  1  whom  seekest  thou  1 " 

But  it  may  be  that  the  trouble  of  your  heart  is  not  so 
much  that  you  doubt  the  reality  of  Christ,  as  that  you  feel 
unable  to  lay  hold  of  Him.  Then  the  question  still  comes 
with  its  own  answer.  Ask  yourself  of  your  pain,  and  see 
if  there  be  not  in  Him  the  remedy  you  seek.  Is  it  that 
you  are  oppressed  with  the  burden  of  guilt  unforgiven, 
rising  like  a  thick  cloud  between  you  and  God,  and 
hindering  your  free,  child-like  approach  to  Him  1  Here  is 
forgiveness  from  his  hand  in  a  way  which  should  meet 
your  heart's  desire.  It  is  free,  it  is  full,  and  it  is  im- 
mediate ;  offered  to  you  not  as  the  end  and  prize  of  a  life 
of  service,  but  as  the  beginning  and  strength  of  it ;  and 
offered  by  Him  who  has  the  right  to  bestow  it,  for  He 
bought  it  dear  that  He  might  give  it  free.  "  Who  is  he 
that  condemneth  1  It  is  Christ  that  died."  Is  it  that  life 
is  a  battle  to  you,  with  daily  cares  and  anxieties,  troubles 
and  temptations,  others  leaning  on  you,  and  you  without 
strength  for  yourself,  ready  to  fall  like  a  weary  soldier  out 
of  the  ranks  and  die  by  the  wayside,  while  the  strong  pass 
on  unheeding  ?  There  was  One  who  was  weary  and  heavy- 
laden  with  the  burden  of  others,  and  who  sank  at  last 
beneath  his  cross ;  but  He  drank  of  the  brook  by  the  way 
and  lifted  up  the  head,  and  He  comes  back  to  help  the 
fallen  that  they  who  wait  upon  Him  may  renew  their 
strength.  Is  it  that  you  feel  the  loneliness  of  life  when 
lover  and  friend  have  been  put  far  from  you,  when  "  the 
coal  which  was  left  is  quenched,"  and  the  world  outside  is 


THE  LORD  S  QUESTION  TO  MARY.  225 

bleak  and  bare  1  There  are  not  only  promises  for  you, 
there  is  the  Promiser  himself :  "  Behold,  I  stand  at  the 
door  and  knock  :  if  any  man  open,  I  will  come  in."  What 
whisperings  of  cheer  He  has,  even  now,  for  lonely  hearts, 
and  what  words  of  hope  when  He  shall  come  in  another 
way  to  open  sealed  sepulchres,  and  lift  up  his  feet  to  the 
long  desolations,  to  give  beauty  for  ashes  and  the  oil  of 
joy  for  mourning ! 

It  is  by  putting  such  questions  as  these  that  we  learn 
the  fitness  of  God's  answer  to  our  heart's  cry,  and  find  it 
all  in  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  the  way  God  himself  has  taken 
in  the  Bible;  for  what  is  the  Old  Testament,  with  its 
utterances  of  want  and  longing  desire,  but  a  pressing  of 
the  question,  Why  weepest  thou  1  and  what  is  the  New 
Testament  but  the  unveiling  of  Him  who  answers  the 
question,  Whom  seekest  thou  1  And  when  He  comes  in 
person  what  is  his  earthly  life  but  a  touching  of  the  deep 
chords  of  man's  nature,  that  He  may  awaken  him  to  a 
consciousness  of  his  misery  and  sin,  and  that  then,  from 
beyond  his  grave,  He  may  assure  him  of  his  power  to 
save  and  satisfy  ?  And  what  is  this  life  to  many  of  us, 
when  we  come  to  understand  its  meaning,  but  a  question- 
ing us  of  our  heart-sores  and  losses,  with  strength  and 
comfort  interspersed  like  pledges  which  make  us  say, 
Lord,  to  whom  but  to  Thee  1  in  order  that  He  may  pre- 
pare us  for  the  answer  which  shall  be  given  when  the 
weeping  of  the  night  gives  place  to  the  joy  of  the  morn- 
ing 1  "  I  will  come  and  take  you  to  Myself."  "  Amen. 
Even  so,  come,  Lord  Jesus." 

Third,  we  shall  advert  to  some  things  worthy  of  notice  in 
the  recognition  which  followed.  One  of  them  is  that  Christ 
reveals  Himself  to  the  heart  before  He  discloses  Himself 
to  the  eye.  He  stood  at  first  beside  Mary  as  a  stranger, 
led  her  to  review  her  past,  and  seek  and  find  Him  in  her 


226  THE  LOUD  S  QUESTION  TO  MARY. 

sorrow ;  and  then  He  removed  the  cloud  which  had  come 
between,  and  appeared  as  the  risen  Saviour.  You  will 
recollect  the  history  of  the  Emmaus  journey,  which  has 
been  given  us  that  we  may  understand  his  way,  as  it 
were,  step  by  step.  He  joined  the  two  disciples  as  a  way- 
faring man,  unknown  at  first,  and  put  his  question,  "  AVhat 
manner  of  communications  are  these  that  ye  have  one  to 
another,  as  ye  walk,  and  are  sad?"  He  brought  them  to 
tell  their  story  of  disappointed  hopes,  to  revolve  and  un- 
fold their  grief;  He  presented  Hrmself  to  their  inner  eye, 
taught  them  to  seek  for  Him  amid  their  troubled  thoughts, 
constrained  them  to  constrain  Him,  and  then  revealed 
Himself  as  the  Lord  they  sought.  It  is  this  method 
which  explains  to  us  the  gloomy  hours  and  long  question- 
ings of  some  whose  hearts  are  seeking  Him  with  a 
despondency  which  touches  despair :  "  0  that  I  knew 
where  I  might  find  Him  !  0  Lord,  my  rock  :  be  not  silent 
to  me  :  lest,  if  Thou  be  silent  to  me,  I  become  like  them 
that  go  down  into  the  pit."  We  wonder  that  God  does 
not  show  Himself,  and  speak  out.  But  He  means  to 
deepen  the  sense  of  need,  to  render  the  choice  more  free 
and  decisive  when  it  is  determined  by  the  inner  bent 
and.  struggle  of  the  soul,  and  to  make  the  revelation 
of  llimself  more  blessed  when  the  hands  clasp  on  Him 
after  long  doubt,  "  My  Lord  and  my  God  ! — whom  having 
not  seen  we  love."  It  is  a  sore  trial  to  be  beside  such 
sufferers  and  feel  ourselves  unable  to  give  relief;  and  yet 
we  have  this  comfort  that,  as  Pascal  says,  "  Those  are 
blessed  who  seek,  for  they  have  already  found  ;  they  need 
only  to  know  it."  If  our  eyes  were  opened  we  might 
perceive  Christ  himself  standing  beside  them,  ready,  here 
or  hereafter,  to  step  out  of  the  cloud,  and  let  the  eye  see 
what  the  heart  was  seeking — see  it  better  than  it  sought 
for  it,  the  Man  of  Sorrows  rising  up  into  the  Lord  of  Life. 


THE  LORD'S  QUESTION  TO  MARY.  227 

For  ourselves  we  have  to  learn  here  that  Christ  makes 
Himself  known  when  we  seek  Him  in  the  way  of  duty. 
Some  make  comfort  the  guide  of  their  spiritual  life,  and, 
unless  they  possess  it,  they  neglect  every  Christian  ser- 
vice. But  this  recognition  of  Christ  came  to  one  who 
had  no  sense  of  comfort,  and  who  could  scarcely  be  said 
to  be  seeking  it.  She  came  to  Christ's  grave  because 
she  could  not  stay  away.  Grief,  loyalty,  love  drew  her 
there,  and  she  had  her  reward.  She  came  comfortless, 
and  she  left  with  the  joy  of  the  resurrection  in  her  soul. 
And  still,  however  desirable  Christian  comfort  of  spirit 
may  be,  it  is  not  the  only,  it  is  not  the  chief,  thing.  Our 
part  is  to  go  in  the  way  of  duty  where  God  bids  us,  to 
do  what  He  tells  us,  to  wait  where  He  appoints  us,  and  in 
time,  in  his  own  time,  He  will  turn  the  shadow  of  death 
into  the  morning,  and  change  Him  for  whom  the  heart 
weeps  into  Him  whom  it  seeks  and  finds. 

There  are  some  things,  further,  in  the  recognition  which 
may  be  noted,  because  they  give  us  doors  of  hope,  or  at 
least  some  light  through  chinks  in  the  door,  as  to  Christ's 
way  of  revealing  Himself  in  this  world,  and,  it  may  be,  in 
the  world  to  come. 

"  Jesus  saith  unto  her,  Mary.  She  turned  herself,  and 
saith  unto  him,  Eabboni ;  which  is  to  say,  Master." 

A  human  historian  would  have  constructed  a  long  speech, 
but  Christ  used  a  single  word — so  simple,  so  natural. 
It  is  like  that  God  who  sets  his  power  in  the  heights 
of  the  firmament  and  the  breadth  of  seas,  but  shuts  up 
his  tenderness  in  drops  of  dew,  and  spring  flower-cups ; 
or  like  Him  who  has  distilled  his  mercy  into  short  Bible 
words  :  Immanuel,  Jesus,  Saviour,  God  is  Love, — making 
it  small  that  it  may  enter  feeble  hearts,  as  He  makes 
the  drops  of  water  small  to  visit  the  blades  of  grass. — 
The  single  word  was  a  name.     It  spoke  of  personal  know- 


228  THE  LORD'S  QUESTION  TO  MARY. 

ledge  aud  interest,  singling  out  the  heart  He  addressed, 
and  coming  close  to  it  in  friendship.  We  read  of  it  as 
great  in  God  that  "  He  counts  the  stars  and  calls  them  by 
their  names ;"  but  it  is  something  greater  in  Him  that  He 
calls  by  name  the  children  of  men  :  "  Jacob  whom  I  have 
chosen ;  the  seed  of  Abraham  my  friend."  He  is  a  per- 
sonal God  entering  into  personal  fellowship  with  his 
creatures,  and  this  makes  Him  grander  than  his  almighty 
power.  It  is  in  Jesus  Christ  that  this  personal  approach 
is  nearest ;  and  therefore  the  Great  Shepherd  of  the 
sheep,  when  God  brought  Him  from  the  dead,  begins  to 
call  them  by  their  name :  "  To  Him  the  porter  openeth ; 
and  the  sheep  hear  his  voice  :  and  He  calleth  his  own 
sheep  by  name,  and  leadeth  them  out." — It  was  at  the 
name  that  she  turned  and  knew  Him.  What  He  put  into 
it  of  tone  and  thrill,  what  He  breathed  through  it  by  his 
Spirit,  as  the  Eisen  One,  we  cannot  tell ;  but  it  said,  Thou 
may  est  mistake  Me,  and  fail  to  recognise  Me,  but  I  am  still 
the  same  !  "  And  she  saith  unto  Him,  Eabboni ;  which  is 
to  say,  Master ! "  No  more,  for  her  heart  was  full,  and 
no  more  was  needed  ;  her  soul  was  poured  out  in  her 
with  that  word.  And  may  we  not  say  that  it  was  more 
iirateful  to  his  heart  than  her  own  name  could  be  to  hers  ? 
In  that  hour  Jesus  rejoiced  in  spirit ;  it  was  the  first 
welcome  to  Him  from  the  grave,  given  in  the  name  of  a 
countless  multitude  who  shall  yet  confess  Him  Master  and 
Lord,  and  who  shall  form  "  the  joy  set  before  Him,  for 
which  He  endured  the  cross  and  despised  the  shame." 

And  may  we  not,  perhaps,  in  this  way  of  recognition, 
have  a  hint  of  how  Christian  fellowship  shall  be  restored, 
as  restored  it  shall  be,  in  the  world  beyond  death  %  It 
seems  so  strange  to  us,  and  so  far  away.  Our  friends,  do 
they  think  of  us  1  When  we  follow  them,  by  God's  grace, 
shall  they  know  us,  and  meet  us  with  a  welcome  1     What 


THE  LORD'S  QUESTION  TO  MARY.  229 

joy  would  that  be !  A  father,  a  mother,  a  wife,  a  husband, 
a  sister,  a  brother,  to  step  forward  as  the  cloud  breaks, 
and  call  us  by  the  old  familiar  name,  with  all  our  human 
memories  clinging  to  it,  and  heaven's  new  tones  of  pity, 
wondering  pity,  at  our  fears  and  faithlessness  !  Can  this 
ever  be,  we  sometimes  say,  0  Saviour,  Lord,  can  this  ever 
be?  And  this  great  Friend,  who  carries  all  other  true 
friendships  in  his  heart,  named  Mary  from  beyond  his 
grave,  to  bid  us  hope  and  trust  that  He  will  meet  and 
name  his  friends  on  the  heavenly  threshold.  Christ 
surely  first,  as  well  befits  Him,  but  afterward  they  that  are 
Christ's,  and  ours.  For,  if  He  names  us,  they  too  shall 
know  us,  and  in  his  light  we  shall  see  light.  "  I  know 
my  sheep,"  He  says,  "  and  am  known  of  mine ;"  and 
then,  "  we  shall  know  even  as  also  we  are  known." 

While  we  have  been  speaking  of  the  Lord's  question  to 
Mary,  and  what  it  suggests,  I  feel  sure  your  thoughts  have 
been  accompanying  mine  to  the  friend  for  whose  loss  we 
are  this  day  sorrowing.  The  history  of  this  first  visit  to 
the  grave  of  Christ,  the  grief  for  the  loss,  the  cloud  be- 
tween, the  heart  which  holds  what  it  cannot  yet  see,  and 
doubts  its  hold  of  what  is  deepest  in  its  nature,  have  been 
repeated  ever  since  in  some  of  the  most  earnest  spirits. 
The  pain  of  the  struggle  is  keenest  where  the  faith  in  the 
eternal  truth  and  the  depreciation  of  self  meet  together  in 
unusual  strength.  But  the  history  is  also  a  prediction  of 
the  way  in  which  such  search  must  end;  and  we  need 
carry  the  application  in  this  respect  no  farther.  Nor  is 
this  the  place  to  speak  at  length  of  the  writings  by  which 
he  was  so  well  known.  We  may  be  permitted  only  to  say 
this  much,  that  while  there  was  not  a  line  in  them  which 
his  friends  could  wish  to  blot  out,  there  was  a  fragrance 
all  his  own  which  has  wafted  them  across  broad  seas,  and 
which  will  carry  them  down  to  men  not  yet  born,  as  things 


230  THE  LORD'S  QUESTION  TO  MARY. 

of  beauty  and  joy.  There  is  a  tender,  tremulous  human 
ness  in  them  which  is  close  under  the  shadow  of  the 
Divine.  Sunshine  and  tears  sparkle  through  each  other 
— the  purest,  kindliest  humour,  and,  rippling  up  from 
beneath,  a  deep  well  of  pathos.  His  human  nature  flows 
out  through  God's  world  of  nature,  which  was  to  him  a 
garden,  and  takes  delight  in  all  the  things  and  creatures 
in  it.  And  yet  we  cannot  help  feeling  that  in  the  garden 
there  is  a  sepulchre,  and  that  his  thought  is  often  drawn 
to  it.  As  he  looks  in,  he  sees  the  angels  clothed  in  white, 
and  hears  their  question,  and,  between  them,  there  is  the 
empty  place  of  Him  whose  absence  makes  the  soul  sad. 
But,  as  he  communes  with  the  gardener,  we  have  the 
assurance  that  the  great  Presence  is  hidden  behind,  and 
that,  by  and  by,  the  cloud  will  lift  and  reveal  the  living 
Lord.     And  so  it  was. 

His  personality,  beyond  that  of  most  men,  was  in  his 
writings,  and  yet,  like  all  true  men,  he  had  something 
more.  He  had  a  singular  power  of  winning  affection,  and 
carried,  wherever  he  went,  the  box  of  ointment  which 
fills  the  house  with  its  odour.  His  friends  feel  what  a 
rare  nature  has  been  taken  from  them  ;  how  this  city  will 
be  long  darker  that  we  miss  his  well-known  face,  and  its 
fellowship  poorer  that  we  can  no  more  converse  with  his 
mind  and  heart.  He  was  one  of  those  beloved  physicians 
who  can  help  the  spirit  as  well  as  the  body,  and  help  it 
in  the  steps  of  the  Great  Physician,  by  taking,  in  sym- 
pathy, "their  infirmities,  and  bearing  their  sicknesses." 
He  suffered  much  because  he  gave  so  much  of  himself 
away.  In  this  he  had  no  little  share  of  the  spirit  of 
Christ.  When  broken  in  heart,  he  lightened  and  com- 
forted others,  and  the  thought  that  they  are  not  to  see 
his  face  again  makes  many  hearts  sore  this  day. 

Every  true  man  has  his  own  peculiar  perfume  of  soul. 


THE  LORD'S  QUESTION  TO  MARY.  231 

When  lie  goes,  he  leaves  no  other  like  him.  When  flowers 
die,  we  know  we  shall  have  them  back  again,  and 
feel  no  difference.  Next  spring  and  summer  will  renew 
the  violets  and  roses  with  the  same  old  fragrance.  But  it 
is  not  so  with  the  perfume  which  belongs  to  a  true  human 
soul.  Each  one  is  a  species,  a  genus  in  itself,  a  kind 
which  is  extinct  to  us  when  death  takes  it,  and  which  the 
whole  world,  in  all  its  seasons,  never  gives  back  again. 
Our  hearts  tell  us  there  are  losses  which  are  irreparable. 
And  yet  is  there  not  in  this  a  hint  and  token  of  a  life 
beyond  I  What  cannot  be  replaced  here  must  exist  there, 
and  have  a  world  to  itself  in  which  it  shall  grow  on.  His 
was  one  of  those  rich,  rare  natures  which  make  us  feel 
this.  His  looks,  his  words,  his  glances  of  thought  and  eye 
belonged  to  himself.  He  saw  things,  and  said  them,  as 
other  men  do  not ;  and  yet  all  was  simple  and  natural  and 
true.  Is  there  not  in  the  recollection  of  him,  in  his  life 
and  look,  such  a  forewarning  1 

"  Gone  before 

To  that  unknown  and  silent  shore  ; 

Shall  we  not  meet  as  heretofore 

Some  summer  morning  ?  " 

But  we  have  a  word  more  sure  from  that  great  Lord 
who  has  said,  "  I  am  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life."  He 
sought  Him  long  and  bending  low,  looking  into  his  own 
heart,  it  may  be,  too  much  and  too  narrowly,  but  looking  also 
into  the  sepulchre  where  the  Lord  lay.  Such  search  can 
never  fail.  The  simple  word  of  trust  before  he  left,  the  quiet 
spirit,  told  that  in  the  eventide  there  was  light,  and  that 
the  parting  of  the  cloud  was  revealing  Him  who  some- 
times hides  Himself  long,  that  we  may  find  Him  more 
gladly  at  last.  Doubtless  He  was  there  to  lay  his  right 
hand  upon  him  when  he  fell  at  his  feet  as  dead,  and  to 
say,  "  Fear  not ;  I  am  the  first  and  the  last :  I  am  He  that 


232  THE  LORD'S  QUESTION  TO  MARY. 

liveth,  and  was  dead  ;  and,  behold,  I  am  alive  for  ever- 
more, Amen ;  and  have  the  keys  of  the  unseen  and  of 
death."  Wherefore  let  us  comfort  one  another  with  these 
words ;  and  let  us  thank  Him  who  has  the  key  of  the 
eternal  world,  who  openeth  and  no  man  shutteth,  that  He 
used  it  so  wisely  and  tenderly  in  the  death  of  our  beloved 
friend. 


XVI. 

THE  BEST  GIFTS  TO  BE  COVETED. 
"  But  covet  earnestly  the  best  gifts." — 1  Cor.  xii.  31. 

When  we  read  the  close  of  the  second  chapter  of  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  we  seem  to  be  in  a  different  Christian 
atmosphere  from  any  the  world  has  since  known.  The 
footsteps  of  Christ  are  so  fresh,  and  the  fragrance  of  his 
presence  so  felt,  that  the  disciples  are  borne  up  on  eagles' 
wings  to  follow  Him.  "  All  that  believed  were  together, 
and  had  all  things  common ;  and  they,  continuing  daily  in 
the  temple,  and  breaking  bread  from  house  to  house,  did 
eat  their  meat  with  gladness  and  singleness  of  heart,  prais- 
ing God  and  having  favour  with  all  the  people." 

It  is  the  kind  of  feeling  which  sometimes  falls  on  a 
household  after  the  death  of  a  beloved  member,  who  has 
gone  so  visibly  into  a  better  world  that  the  gate  of  heaven 
seems  thrown  open,  and  those  who  remain  think  that  all 
the  rest  of  their  life  they  can  walk  straight  on  in  that 
blessed  and  holy  light.  But  soon  there  come  the  chill  and 
damp  of  the  outer  world  with  its  work  and  temptations, 
amid  which  it  is  so  hard  to  preserve  the  higher  spirit. 

We  have  many  of  us  experienced  this,  and  lamented 
the  decline.  It  was  the  experience  of  the  primitive 
church,  and  this  epistle  to  the  Corinthians  shows  how  soon 
and  painfully  it  began,  The  gifts  bestowed  in  that  remark- 
able time,  by  which  the  descent  of  a  new  life  into  the 
world  was  signalised — powers  of  knowledge  and  speech, 
of  healing  and  administration — became  the   occasions  of 


234  THE  BEST  GIFTS  TO  BE  COVETED. 

jealousy  and  division.  The  questions  of  the  understand- 
ing and  practical  life,  which  are  all  right  in  their  own 
way,  came  to  disturb  the  heart  and  spirit.  The  apostle 
Paul  shows  the  means  of  cure.  It  is  not  by  casting  aside 
the  questions  and  occupations  that  concern  divine  truth 
and  church  administration,  not  by  treating  them  as  insig- 
nificant or  spreading  over  them  a  haze  of  indifference, 
but  by  choosing  and  aiming  at  the  best.  By  the  best  I 
have  no  doubt  he  meant  those  gifts  which  tend  most  to 
Christian  edification,  which  tell  most  directly  on  the  con- 
science and  spiritual  life.  And  then  he  passes  on  to  the 
best  of  all — to  what  we  may  call  better  than  the  best : 
"  Covet  earnestly  the  best  gifts ;  and  yet "  (besides  this) 
"  show  I  unto  you  a  more  excellent  way."  Like  a  true 
poet,  as  he  was,  he  takes  his  harp  in  his  hand,  and  in  the 
thirteenth  chapter  he  sings  tha*t  noble  hymn  in  praise  of 
charity,  of  which  the  world  had  never  heard  the  like  till 
Christ  entered  it,  and  which  is  still  so  far  above  the  reach 
of  the  Church  in  the  full  height  of  its  tone  and  in  the  com- 
pass of  its  harmony. 

We  shall  take  these  words  and  try  to  show  what  some 
of  the  best  gifts  are,  and  what  frame  we  are  to  cherish 
towards  them,  and,  in  doing  so,  we  shall  take  the  guid- 
ance which  the  apostle  himself  gives  us — the  touchstone  of 
charity.  He  means  us  to  prefer  those  which  group  them- 
selves most  readily  round  this  great  centre. 

I.  First,  then,  let  us  consider  what  some  of  the  best 

GIFTS  ARE. 

It  is  very  evident  that  they  are  not  those  which  are 
external  to  the  soul's  nature,  such  as  money  or  power 
or  reputation.  These  are  certainly  gifts,  and  a  Christian 
man  is  not  forbidden  to  seek  them  in  the  right  way  and 
measure,  and  when  gained  they  may  be  employed  for  high 


THE  BEST  GIFTS  TO  BE  COVETED.  235 

ends.  Yet  a  heathen  has  said  of  such  things,  "  Scarce  do 
I  call  them  our  own  ;  "  and  we  need  not  say  that  neither 
the  apostle  Paul  nor  his  Master  would  number  them 
among  the  best  gifts. 

Neither  does  he  speak  of  all  the  gifts  that  touch  our  in- 
ward nature.  Intellectual  ability,  and  taste,  and  culture — 
the  qualities  of  mind  and  imagination  which  lift  man  above 
sense,  and  give  him  a  life  that  takes  in  the  compass  of  the 
world  of  humanity — these  are  very  precious,  and  no  en- 
lightened Christian  man  will  underrate  them.  We  wish 
that  Christian  men  would  seek  them  more,  as  they  well 
may  do  with  the  words  in  their  hearts,  "  These  are  parts 
of  thy  ways."  The  apostle  Paul  was  far  from  despising 
these  gifts,  and  yet  we  feel  that  he  would  be  as  far  from 
describing  them  as  "  the  best." 

Evidently  he  meant  to  point  us  to  those  gifts  with  which 
the  spirit  of  charity,  as  he  has  described  it,  is  connected — 
the  love  of  God,  as  it  is  presented  in  Jesus  Christ,  flowing 
out  into  the  love  of  man,  or  shall  we  not  say  into  the  love 
of  all  that  God  has  made,  desiring  and  labouring  that  it 
may  be  freed  from  the  evil,  which  is  not  of  his  making  ? 
Even  faith  and  hope,  which  we  may  reckon  among  the 
best  gifts,  have  their  value  in  this,  that  they  lead  on  to 
something  better  than  themselves;  and  in  coveting  the 
best  we  are  not  to  rest  in  them,  but  to  press  on  to  that  of 
which  God  has  made  them  the  heralds  and  ministers.  The 
apostle  Paul  agrees  entirely  with  John  as  to  the  nature  of 
true  religion — a  heart  that  has  been  reconciled  to  God,  and 
that  strives  to  carry  its  feeling  of  reconcilement  down  into 
all  God's  ways,  and  out  among  all  God's  creatures.  If  you 
wish  to  know  what  it  is  by  its  fruits,  let  us  mention  some 
of  them.  In  regard  to  God  himself,  there  will  be  a  spirit 
of  reverence  and  humility,  an  earnest  wish  to  know  his 
Avays,  and  a  willingness  to  pause  when  they  transcend  us, 


236  THE  BEST  GIFTS  TO  BE  COVETED. 

with  the  conviction  that  we  have  only  to  wait  to  find  out 
the  grandeur  and  goodness  of  what  we  cannot  meanwhile 
understand.  True  love  to  God  will  carry  with  it  this 
reverential  trust.  As  regards  our  fellow-men,  there  will  be 
a  spirit  of  candid  and  generous  judgment,  a  freedom  from 
jealousy,  a  readiness  to  forbear  and  forgive,  a  desire  to 
sympathise  with  the  sorrows  and  rejoice  in  the  happiness 
of  others  ;  for  we  have  the  highest  authority  for  saying, 
"  that  he  who  loves  God  will  love  his  brother  also."  As 
regards  ourselves,  the  best  gifts  are  patience  and  cheerful 
contentment,  courage  to  march  in  the  path  of  duty  when 
it  leads  to  the  deadliest  breach,  and  calm  fortitude  to  en- 
dure hardship  when  God  appoints  us  to  watch.  That  these 
are  not  inconsistent  with  the  spirit  of  love,  the  long  roll  of 
Christian  heroes  and  martyrs  proves ;  and  it  could  easily  be 
shown  that  out  of  the  sweetness  of  a  heart  at  one  with  God 
there  comes  the  highest  strength.  As  to  things  around, 
there  will  be  the  temperance  of  chastened  desire,  not  grasping 
at  the  immoderate,  nor  pining  for  the  unattainable,  not  un- 
duly depressed  by  any  outward  loss,  nor  elated  by  gain ; 
for  when  the  heart  is  kept  by  the  peace  of  God  it  may  be 
harassed,  but  cannot  be  conquered,  by  such  assaults.  The 
general  mark  of  them  all  is  that  we  are  not  trying  to  make 
everything  and  every  person  pay  tribute  to  self,  but  that 
we  are  learning  the  lesson  of  self-control,  still  better  of 
self-sacrifice,-  and  all  this  from  the  love  of  God  shed  abroad 
in  the  heart.  These,  I  believe,  are  some  of  the  gifts  which 
the  apostle  meant  to  pronounce  the  best ;  not  gifts  of  the 
hand,  nor  gifts  of  the  mind,  but  gifts  of  the  heart  and 
spirit ;  and  that  we  may  be  convinced  of  their  superiority, 
let  us  see  how  they  differ  from  others. 

These  gifts  enter  deepest  into  our  nature.  The  outer 
things  of  the  world,  its  wealth  and  power  and  sensuous 
pleasure,  can  scarcely  be  said  to  enter  into  our  nature  at 


THE  BEST  GIFTS  TO  BE  COVETED.  237 

all,  except  when  their  abuse  corrupts  it.  They  lie  on  the 
face  of  it,  oftentimes,  like  a  fire  on  ice  burning  the  surface 
while  the  deep  is  freezing.  A  man's  soul  can  be  utterly 
cold  and  miserable  in  the  midst  of  all  that  to  an  onlooker 
is  fitted  to  give  warmth  and  comfort. 

As  to  intellect  and  culture  and  the  prize  of  reputation, 
they  may  go  deeper,  but  can  they  reach  the  centre  1  If 
the  heart  and  spiritual  nature  are  left  uncared  for,  the 
mind,  even  if  illuminated  by  the  light  of  genius,  is  a  very 
cheerless  home  for  happiness.  The  coveted  laurels  are 
sprinkled  over  with  the  corroding  acids  of  envy  and 
jealousy ;  or  vanity  and  pride  gnaw  at  the  root  like  the 
worm  in  the  ancient  gourd  ;  and  the  prophet  or  poet  sinks 
into  a  peevish  cynic,  and  quarrels  with  God's  sunshine. 
It  is  only  when  a  man  has  better  gifts  than  intellect  that 
he  can  escape  such  heart-burnings. 

The  value  of  the  gifts  of  love  in  the  soul  is  that  they 
go  deeper  than  all  these,  and  reach  the  centre  where 
happiness  lies.  Even  if  they  abide  alone,  they  are  suffi- 
cient \  and,  if  other  gifts  are  there,  they  touch  them  and 
turn  them  into  gold.  As  they  go  deepest,  they  become 
the  ruling  power,  and  make  all  else  that  a  man  possesses 
a  blessing  to  himself  and  others  ;  and  so  the  apostle  (Col. 
iii.  15)  says,  "  Above  all  these  things  "  (that  is,  over  them 
all,  like  a  girdle  compacting  the  garments)  "  put  on  charity, 
which  is  the  perfect  bond."  That  which  is  deepest  in  our 
nature  becomes  most  comprehensive  and  all-controlling. 

These  gifts  are  the  most  lasting.  We  know  how  very 
quickly  outward  possessions  may  take  their  leave.  They 
have  wings  like  birds.  Every  day  shows  it  in  an  age  like 
ours,  and  a  city  like  this,  where  the  first  chapter  of  Job 
is  repeated  according  to  our  time,  and  storms  at  sea 
and  fires  and  false  securities  and  swindlers  as  remorse- 
less as  the  Chaldean  plunderers  attack  a  man's  property, 


238  THE  BEST  GIFTS  TO  BE  COVETED. 

till  he  is  brought  down  from  wealth  to  sit  among  cold 
ashes. 

And  intellectual  gains  are  not  over  secure.  The  stores 
of  knowledge  are  in  the  keeping  of  a  treacherous  memory. 
Age  comes  to  steal  a  man's  mental  treasures,  dim  his 
imagination,  and  pluck  the  wings  of  his  fancy,  till  he 
creeps  beneath  the  summits  where  he  soared.  More 
melancholy  than  the  loss  of  empire  is  the  saying  of  poor 
Swift,  when  reading  one  of  his  own  works,  "  What  a 
glorious  mind  I  had  when  I  wrote  that ! " 

But  let  a  man  have  the  gifts  of  a  loving,  patient,  self- 
renouncing  heart,  and  the  rule  is  that  they  grow  richer 
and  mellower  as  life  advances.  I  do  not  say  that  the  sur- 
face of  them  may  not  sometimes  be  ruffled.  There  come 
sore  shocks  of  the  physical  and  nervous  system,  which 
seem  to  afflict  the  most  loving  natures  with  impatience 
and  despondency.  But  these  are  exceptions;  and,  when 
they  do  happen,  we  feel  that  they  are  temporary  jarrings 
which  do  not  belong  to  the  real  self.  Such  cries  of  the 
physical  frame  are  mercifully  passed  over  by  God,  and 
they  will  be  more  than  compensated  in  a  coming  time 
with  the  garments  of  praise  for  the  spirit  of  heaviness. 

There  are  gifts  of  God  without  repentance,  and  the 
surest  among  them  are  those  that  have  charity  in  their 
heart.  The  fashions  of  the  world  of  culture  and  know- 
ledge make  some  forms  of  it  out-dated ;  and  we  can  con- 
ceive a  time  when  all  the  experimental  wisdom  of  this 
life  will  be  inapplicable,  like  hills  and  headlands  on 
the  shore  which  are  no  landmarks  in  the  mid-ocean.  But 
if  the  lessons  have  gone  into  the  soul,  and  made  it  a  sharer 
in  divine  possessions,  they  are  the  same  through  all  time 
and  space,  for  they  make  a  man  partaker  of  God's  nature. 
These  gifts  are  not  the  laws  of  his  hand  ;  they  are  the 
pulsations  of  his  heart. 


THE  BEST  GIFTS  TO  BE  COVETED.  239 

And  therefore  such  gifts  are  best,  because  they  are  most 
God-like.  It  is  in  a  small  degree  that  we  can  share  God's 
wisdom ;  in  a  still  smaller  degree  his  power.  These 
attributes  of  his  nature  must  always  be  over  and  around  us 
rather  than  within  us.  But  of  his  love  it  is  said,  "  God  is 
love,  and  he  that  dwelleth  in  love  dwelleth  in  God,  and 
God  in  him  ! "  It  is  as  much  ours  as  our  home — nay,  as 
much  ours  as  our  heart.  And  therefore,  when  Christ 
tells  us  how  we  are  to  be  like  God  perfectly,  He  says, 
"  Be  ye  perfect  as  your  Father  in  heaven  is  perfect,"  and 
interprets  it  in  another  place,  "  Be  ye  merciful  as  your 
Father  in  heaven  is  merciful."  When  God  had  displayed 
his  power  and  wisdom  in  creation,  when  He  had  shown 
the  majesty  of  justice  in  the  vindication  of  moral  law,  He 
came  at  last  into  the  world  in  Christ  to  exhibit  sympathy 
and  self-renunciation — the  lowest  step,  the  highest  mani- 
festation— the  hiding  of  his  power,  the  unveiling  of  his 
grace.  For  when  the  Son  of  God  visited  men,  He  left  out- 
ward wealth  and  power  behind,  that  He  might  show  that 
the  highest  ends  of  life  can  be  gained  without  them,  and 
He  did  not  choose  the  arts  and  arguments  of  the  schools, 
but  He  went  about  doing  good,  He  surrendered  all  that 
the  world  holds  dear  for  those  who  gave  Him  only  in- 
gratitude and  reproach,  and  was  nailed  of  free  consent  to 
a  cross  that  He  might  bequeath  a  legacy  of  pardon  and 
eternal  life.  It  was  the  opening  of  the  heart  of  God,  and, 
when  we  look  into  it,  we  find  a  stronger  power  than  all 
human  law,  and  a  deeper  wisdom  than  all  man's  philosophy; 
and  those  who  realise  most  of  it  in  their  nature,  and 
breathe  its  spirit  to  their  fellow-men,  are  partakers  be- 
yond all  others  of  the  life  of  God. 

A  man  of  a  doubtful  mind,1  who  has  found,  we  trust,  in 
a  better  world  the  certainty  he  painfully  groped  for  in 
1  A.  H.  Ciough. 


240  THE  BEST  GIFTS  TO  BE  COVETED. 

this,  has  left  this  record  of  his  melancholy  perplexity — 
"My  own  personal  experience  is  most  limited,  perhaps 
even  most  delusive.  What  have  I  seen,  what  do  I  know  1 
Nor  is  my  personal  judgment  a  thing  which  I  feel  any 
great  satisfaction  in  trusting.  My  reasoning  powers  are 
weak ;  my  memory  doubtful  and  confused  ;  my  conscience, 
it  may  be,  callous  or  vitiated."  And  then  in  another 
place,  ignorant  of  what  he  should  desire,  he  says  : — 

•'Would  I  could  wish  my  wishes  all  to  rest, 
And  know  to  wish  the  wish  that  were  the  best." 

Even  if  this  description  of  the  feebleness  and  untrust- 
worthiness  of  the  human  mind  were  true,  there  is  a  way 
by  which  we  may  make  our  escape  to  certainty.  Can 
any  one  doubt  that  love  is  better  than  envy,  self-sacrifice 
more  noble  and  divine  than  selfishness  1  In  wishing  for 
patience,  sympathy,  and  mercy,  we  feel  and  know  that  we 
wish  for  the  best  things  in  all  the  world ;  and  inasmuch 
as  these  things  are  the  centre  and  soul  of  the  gospel,  we 
have  a  token  that  the  gospel  is  of  God.  Whatever  sad 
misrepresentations  of  it  we  may  have  in  some  of  its 
adherents,  when  its  great  Author  and  Lord  comes  into 
view  the  heavenly  dove  is  hovering  over  Him  with  the 
testimony,  "  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well 
pleased." 

II.  Let  us  now  look  at  the  frame  of  mind  we  are 

TO  CHERISH  TOWARDS  THESE  GIFTS. 

We  are  to  covet  them  earnestly.  It  seems  strange 
that  the  apostle  should  have  chosen  a  word  that  is 
stamped  with  disapproval  in  the  commandments  of  God, 
"  Thou  shalt  not  covet,"  a  commandment  from  which 
he  himself  has  told  us  he  was  first  brought  to  see  how 
deep   sin    was    lodged  in  his  nature — not  in  his  actions 


THE  BEST  GIFTS  TO  BE  COVETED.  241 

only,  but  in  his  heart.  It  is  probable  that  he  uses  it 
with  a  reference  to  the  conduct  of  the  men  he  was  address- 
ing. They  were  coveting  each  other's  place  and  honour 
and  talent,  engaged  in  a  struggle  to  depreciate  and  sup- 
plant one  another.  '  If/  he  says,  '  you  would  only  set 
your  hearts  on  the  right  things,  you  may  desire  what  be- 
longs to  your  neighbour,  and  you  may  strive  to  appropriate 
it  to  yourselves.  Covet  if  you  will,  but  let  it  be  the  gifts 
of  charity  and  self-denial.'  Here,  you  will  observe,  the 
word  "  covet "  ceases  to  have  any  sin  in  it.  This  is  the 
only  case  in  which  it  can  be  used  with  constant  and  per- 
fect safety.  In  every  other  thing  we  may  sin  against  and 
wrong  our  neighbour,  but  here  never.  If  we  covet  his 
material  possessions,  we  shall  desire  to  dispossess  him, 
or  give  him  less  than  their  value.  If  we  covet  his  in- 
tellectual gifts,  there  will  be  jealousy  and  envy  in  the 
very  look  of  admiration  we  cast  on  them.  But  if  we 
covet  his  loving  spirit,  his  forbearance  and  kindliness  and 
self-abnegation,  we  are  yielding  to  him  our  deepest  affec- 
tion and  reverence.  We  are  not  so  much  taking  from  as 
rendering  to  him,  lighting  our  taper  at  his  fire,  and  adding 
it  to  the  flame.  In  the  fullest  sense  we  are  allowed  to 
envy  our  neighbour's  loving  spirit,  for  in  that  envy  our 
own  love  is  given  to  him.  The  word  of  prohibition  in 
the  law  thus  becomes  a  word  of  command  in  the  gospel. 
We  may  covet  if  we  set  our  heart  upon  the  best  gifts,  for 
we  are  restoring  that  which  we  took  not  away. 

We  are  to  covet  these  gifts  earnestly,  making  growth 
in  them  a  constant  and  supreme  desire.  We  are  to  pur- 
sue them  as  an  avaricious  man  pursues  wealth,  or  an 
ambitious  man  power.  Observe  how  they  think  and  toil, 
watch  opportunities,  treasure  up  the  smallest  gains ;  and 
do  you  go  and  imitate  them.  Instead  of  entering  into 
detailed  rules,  I  shall  give  two  general  counsels  for  your 

Q 


242  THE  BEST  GIFTS  TO  BE  COVETED. 

intercourse  with  others,  so  that  the  spirit  of  this  admoni- 
tion may  be  carried  out. 

Try  to  discover  what  is  best  in  those  around  you  and  to 
rejoice  in  it.  This  is  one  way  of  making  what  is  good  in 
them  your  own  without  taking  anything  from  them — a 
just  and  Christian  coveting.  I  do  not  mean  that  you  are 
to  surrender  your  powers  of  discrimination,  and  to  fall  into 
the  easy  and  stupid  indifference  that  makes  no  distinction 
between  right  and  wrong,  good  and  evil.  But  I  mean 
that  you  are  not  to  attribute  evil  to  men  till  you  have 
sufficient  reasons  for  it,  and  that  you  are  to  judge  even 
wrong  appearances  in  a  large  and  generous  way.  You  are 
to  remember  how  many  things  look  so  evil  in  the  rehears- 
ing, that  could  be  explained,  or  might  turn  to  good,  if  we 
had  all  the  setting  and  circumstances  ;  and  how  a  tone  or  a 
look  in  the  saying  or  doing  of  a  thing  would  alter  all  its 
complexion.  It  is  a  blessed  work  to  go  through  the 
world  trying  to  put  men  and  things  in  the  best  light  that 
is  consistent  with  truth,  removing  misconstructions,  cast- 
ing a  shield  over  those  who  cannot  answer  for  themselves, 
and  striving  to  bring  into  prominence  excellence  that  is 
overlooked.  The  pity  is  that  sharp  criticism  should  have 
the  credit  of  strong-mindedness,  when  its  chief  ability 
often  lies  in  want  of  capacity  to  see  what  is  good,  and 
want  of  feeling  to  refrain  from  saying  what  is  disagreeable. 
When  we  do  discover  good  in  any  man  where  it  was 
hidden,  we  have  a  right  to  rejoice  in  it  as  a  covetous  man 
would  rejoice  in  some  unlooked-for  profit.  It  is  so  much 
gain  to  the  cause  of  our  poor  human  nature.  Every  noble 
and  beautiful  action  performed  by  a  man  belongs  to  us  as 
men,  and  when  it  comes  gleaming  out  of  some  dark  spot, 
some  poor,  abject  life,  it  is  token  that  the  world,  outcast 
as  it  is,  is  not  utterly  cast  away. 

And    if   this   is   our  duty   as  men,  surely  not  less  as 


THE  BEST  GIFTS  TO  BE  COVETED.  243 

Christians.  When  any  one  stumbles  or  falls  who  bears 
the  Christian  name,  instead  of  pride  or  self-congratulation, 
we  ought  to  feel  it  to  be  a  family  dishonour ;  and,  when 
any  disinterested  or  heroic  deed  is  done  by  a  Christian 
man,  a  glow  of  gratitude  to  God  should  warm  our  heart. 
How  rich  we  should  be  if  every  gift  and  grace  which  we 
saw  thus  became  our  own — for  his  the  possession  is  whose 
soul  is  rejoiced  by  it  !  And  we  must  also  cast  our  eye 
over  and  outside  sectional  walls,  and  take  pleasure  in  the 
advance  of  spiritual  life  everywhere.  Whatever  is  going 
towards  God  is  ours,  if  we  are  striving  to  be  on  God's 
side.  What  was  true  of  the  possessions  of  the  primi- 
tive Christians  should  always  be  true  of  Christian  gifts. 
"  They  that  believed  were  together,  and  had  all  things 
common."  In  this  sense  also  "all  are  yours;  for  ye  are 
Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's." 

The  next  counsel  is  that,  while  you  look  out  for  what 
is  best  in  each  character,  you  should  mingle  much  with  those 
who  have  it  in  large  degree.  It  is  very  difficult  to  live  long 
among  selfish  people  without  becoming  like  them.  It  is 
not  merely  that  their  example,  their  maxims,  the  atmo- 
sphere they  breathe,  are  infectious,  but  that  they  drive  us 
to  their  own  temper  in  a  kind  of  self-defence.  When  they 
draw  unscrupulously  to  their  own  side,  we  can  scarcely 
help  trying  to  redress  the  balance  by  drawing  to  ours; 
and  so  men  who  are  much  in  this  element  come  at  last 
to  believe  only  in  the  law  of  self-seeking.  But  there  is 
an  unselfish  world — what  Prevost-Paradol  has  called  "  the 
great  nation  of  generous  spirits."  Try  to  find  it  out 
around  you,  live  in  it  in  your  free  hours  of  intercourse, 
and  when  it  opens  its  heart  you  cannot,  if  you  have  any 
heart  within  you,  fail  to  respond.  However  restricted  you 
may  be  in  your  living  friendships,  you  have  your  choice  of 
books.    Take  not  to  the  hard  and  cynical,  but  to  the  gener- 


244  THE  BEST  GIFTS  TO  BE  COVETED. 

ous  and  broadly  human.  Above  all,  you  have  your  Bible. 
What  a  noble  breadth  and  generosity  there  is  in  it !  How  it 
teaches  us  to  compassionate  human  nature  without  con- 
temning it — the  very  opposite  of  the  current  literature  of 
our  time  !  Seek  out  its  noble  characters,  make  them  your 
friends,  and  grow  with  their  growing  life.  Follow,  for 
example,  Jacob's  earlier  and  meaner  self  into  his  later  and 
higher,  when  the  lurking  folds  of  selfishness  were  taken 
vut  of  his  nature,  and,  as  in  old  men  the  face  of  some 
ancestor  is  said  to  reappear,  the  grand  features  of  his  pro- 
genitor Abraham  rise  up  anew.  Come  much  into  the  com- 
pany of  the  man  who  spoke  the  words  of  our  text,  the  apostle 
Paul — so  ardent  for  truth,  yet  so  large,  so  candid,  so  forbear- 
ing. One  cannot  admire  such  gifts  without  coveting  them, 
nor  coveb  them  earnestly  without  gaining  them.  Above 
all,  be  much  in  the  company  of  Paul's  Master.  We  shall 
learn  breadth  and  nobleness  where  he  learned  it,  in  the  life 
of  Christ,  in  his  death,  in  the  view  which  his  life  and  death 
give  us  of  God  himself — so  long-suffering  and  forgiving, 
so  ready  to  accept  our  poor  mites  of  service,  and  to  remove 
our  burdens  of  sin.  "  Ye  are  taught  of  God  to  love  one 
another." 

We  shall  conclude  with  two  thoughts  which  may  serve 
as  encouragements  to  seek  these  gifts. 

In  coveting  them  as  earnestly  as  we  may,  we  can  never  harm 
any  one,  either  ourselves  or  others.  Is  there  aught  else 
of  which  this  can  be  said  1  Many  other  things  on  which 
we  set  our  hearts  may,  through  our  abuse  of  them,  become 
a  stumbling-block  and  tend  to  ruin.  These  make  whatever 
we  gain  wholesome  and  safe.  We  may  hurt  our  fellow- 
creatures  by  our  very  desires.  Our  struggle  for  wealth  may 
impoverish  them  ;  our  efforts  to  rise  may  cast  them  down ; 
our  contest  for  reputation  may  throw  them  into  the  shade. 
But  when  we  are  coveting  these  gifts  we  are  bestowing 


THE  BEST  GIFTS  TO  BE  COVETED.  245 

unmingled  blessing  on  others,  setting  all  they  do  in  a 
kindlier  light,  and  giving  pledge  that  whatever  we  acquire 
shall  be  used  for  universal  good. 

In  coveting  these  gifts  earnestly,  toe  are  sure  to  gain  them. 
To  desire  them  with  all  the  heart  is  to  have  them.  Of 
what  else  can  this  be  affirmed1?  We  may  covet  wealth 
and  power,  but  how  few  succeed  of  those  who  seek  ! 
"What  pining  eyes  look  up,  what  panting  hearts  break 
on  the  craggy  steep,  where  a  few  ascend !  Or  we  may 
covet  pre-eminence  in  talent,  while  an  iron  barrier  seems 
drawn  about  our  brain.  This  is  one  of  the  most  painful 
things  to  witness — a  man  with  admiration  for  genius,  with 
the  passionate  desire  to  possess  it,  and  the  road  to  it 
inexorably  closed.  He  sees  it  leap  from  the  thought  of 
others,  but  no  spark  will  come  from  his  own,  pray  and 
labour  as  he  may.  The  consciousness  of  an  inferior 
intellect,  and  the  impossibility  of  ever  escaping  from  it,  is 
one  of  the  sorest  things  a  man  can  bear,  who  has  made 
intellect  his  god.  But  here  is  something  best  of  all,  which 
is  open  to  all — the  spirit  of  love  and  self-sacrifice.  Each 
one  of  us  has  a  way  to  what  is  above  the  glittering  of 
gold  or  the  fire  of  genius.  The  weakest  intellect  can 
touch  and  take  possession  of  what  is  most  divine,  of  the 
most  glorious  attribute  of  the  God  of  heaven.  And  this 
may  be  a  token  to  us  of  a  gracious  order  in  the  universe, 
of  a  principle  of  righteousness  that  will  redress  all  the 
inequality  and  wrong — a  beam  of  light  amid  the  dark. 
The  Highest  stooped  to  be  the  servant  of  all,  that  He 
might  beautify  the  meek  with  salvation,  and  say  of  those 
who  learn  of  Him,  "Where  I  am,  there  shall  also  my 
servant  be."  "  He  giveth  grace  to  the  humble,"  and 
He  who  gives  grace  will  also  give  glory;  which,  if  we 
understand  it  rightly,  means — "  He  addeth  more  grace." 
Wealth  shall  be  very  little  when  we  tread  upon  it  in  the 


246  THE  BEST  GIFTS  TO  BE  COVETED. 

golden  streets,  and  genius  not  so  predominant  when  in 
God's  light  we  shall  see  light.  But  better  than  its  gold 
and  much  fine  gold,  and  sweeter  than  all  the  honey  of  its 
knowledge,  shall  he  the  love  of  the  heart  that  looks  upon 
and  is  made  like  unto  the  Son  of  God.  Such  a  heart 
now  enables  a  man  to  draw  happiness  from  every  other 
man's  good,  and  it  is  heaven's  seal  in  his  soul  that  he 
is  the  heir  of  all  things.  "  The  humble  shall  see  this  and 
be  glad ;  and  your  hearts  shall  rejoice  that  seek  God." 


XVII. 

THE  HEAVENLY  HOME. 

"  In  my  Fathers  house  are  many  mansions.'" — John  xiv.  2. 

We  cannot  read  the  life  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in 
the  Gospels,  without  observing  how  it  gathers  and  grows 
in  intensity  as  it  nears  its  end,  that  last  great  act  of 
self-devotion  when  He  is  lifted  up  to  draw  all  men 
unto  Him.  And  there  is  a  like  progress  in  his  words  and 
manner  of  speech.  Compare,  for  example,  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount,  its  guidance  for  the  practical  Christian  life, 
and  its  lessons  from  nature  for  confidence  in  God,  with 
this  discourse  in  the  upper  chamber  at  Jerusalem,  and  you 
feel  the  change.  It  is  like  that  between  the  fresh  meeting 
in  the  morning  sunlight,  with  the  day  spread  out  before 
them,  and  the  parting  under  the  solemn  shadows  of  the 
nightfall.  We  feel  as  if  the  voice  must  have  sunk  at 
times  to  whispers,  but  it  has  a  depth  and  earnestness 
which  it  could  never  express  before,  because  it  had  never 
found  the  season  and  the  listeners.  His  soul  is  about  to 
be  poured  out  in  death  ;  his  disciples  have  a  dim  feeling 
that  such  an  end  is  at  hand ;  and  his  heart  is  now  opened 
in  most  tender  pity  to  them  for  all  they  have  to  suffer  when 
He  shall  be  no  longer  in  the  midst  of  them.  Such  is  the 
undertone  which  pervades  the  whole  discourse.  But  while 
the  earthly  sun  is  sinking  the  stars  are  coming  out  in  the 
sky,  to  tell  of  a  grander  universe,  and  of  purposes  beyond 
the  narrow  homes  under  whose  roofs  we  now  meet  and 

247 


248  THE  HEAVENLY  HOME. 

part.  Nowhere  in  any  part  of  his  teaching  does  our  Lord 
point  to  these  so  distinctly,  for  as  stars  shine  in  the  dark 
his  hopes  brighten  amid  life's  shadows.  There  is  not 
anywhere  in  all  the  Bible  a  view  of  the  heavenly  world 
so  clear  and  full,  and  yet  so  brief  and  simple,  as  is  con- 
tained in  his  opening  words.  It  is  like  the  firmament 
itself,  "  inlaid  with  patines  of  bright  gold."  We  have,  first, 
his  description  of  heaven,  "In  my  Father's  house  are  many 
mansions ; "  next,  the  assurance  of  it,  "  if  it  were  not  so,  I 
would  have  told  you ;  "  then,  the  fitting  up  and  furnishing 
of  it,  "  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you  ;  "  still  further,  the 
safe  conduct  to  it,  "  If  I  go  and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  I 
will  come  again  and  receive  you  unto  Myself;"  and,  last 
of  all,  the  essence  of  it,  "  that  where  I  am,  there  ye  may 
be  also." 

We  shall  turn  attention  now  to  the  first  of  these,  that, 
if  we  are  under  the  shadow  of  partings,  as  indeed  we 
always  are,  we  may,  with  the  help  of  Christ's  Spirit,  share 
in  the  comforts  He  offers. 

The  first  remark  we  make  is  that  our  Lord  teaches  us 
to  connect  with  heaven  the  thought  of  permanence.  It 
is  a  place  of  "  mansions."  Both  the  English  word  and 
the  Greek  intimate  this  —  a  place  where  the  dwellers 
shall  abide,  like  a  city  to  wanderers  in  the  wilder- 
ness. '  You  have  known  Me,'  He  says  to  his  disciples, 
'  for  a  few  years,  moving  to  and  fro,  but  I  leave  you 
for  the  city  of  God,  where  you  also  shall  enter  in,  to  go 
out  no  more  at  all.'  The  promise  answers  a  very  deep 
desire  of  the  human  heart.  "  All  things  change,"  the  old 
heathen  poet  says,  "  and  we  with  them."  But  the  change 
in  things  around  us  is  like  fixity  to  the  change  that  is  in 
ourselves.  It  may  be  that  the  earth  and  sun  and  stars 
and  all  material  things  are  slowly  moving  from  their  old 
forms  into  new,  their  light  paling,  their  vitality  decaying, 


THE  HEAVENLY  HOME.  249 

to  be  renewed  we  know  not  how  ;  but  their  slow,  stern 
cycles  seem  to  us  changeless  when  we  think  of  ourselves. 
Let  any  one  who  has  advanced  but  a  short  way  in  life  look 
round.  Old  times  are  away,  old  interests,  old  aims :  the 
haunts,  the  friends,  the  faces  of  our  youth,  where  are  they] 
Gone,  or  so  changed  that  we  dare  not  think  to  recal  them. 
Or,  if  we  try,  we  cannot ;  they  are  so  different,  so  far 
away,  such  a  mist  has  come  up  from  the  stream  of  time, 
that  they  are  shadows  dim  and  broken  like  things  in  a 
dream.  And  we  are  changing  within.  If  we  could  keep 
up  the  life  and  freshness  there,  it  would  be  less  sad.  But 
there  are  few  who  can  say  the  spring-leaves  are  as  green, 
the  flowers  as  sweet,  the  summer  days  as  long  and  sunny, 
the  heart  as  open  and  free  from  distrust,  as  when  life  was 
young.  There  is  indeed  compensation  for  this,  if  we  will 
seek  it.  If  we  have  a  home  in  God  through  Christ,  it 
brings  in  something  better  than  youthful  brightness,  even 
a  peace  which  flows  like  a  river,  a  joy  and  gladness  at  times, 
the  taste  of  which  is  like  the  wine  of  Christ's  higher  feast, 
that  makes  the  guests  say,  "  The  new  is  better."  But  here, 
too,  there  is  frequently  change.  The  anchor  of  our  hope 
seems  to  lose  its  hold,  our  sense  of  pardon  and  peace  may 
be  broken,  and  the  face  of  God,  if  seen  at  all,  may  look 
dim  and  distant.  The  disciples  who  were  in  possession 
of  this  fellowship  with  Christ  at  the  close  of  the  week 
were,  before  another,  scattered  from  around  his  cross,  or 
hopelessly  seeking  Him  in  his  grave. 

It  is  from  such  changes  that  the  promise  of  Christ 
carries  us  to  a  fixed  place  of  abojle.  The  permanence  of 
the  dwelling  shall  ensure  permanence  in  all  that  belongs 
to  the  dwellers  in  it;  otherwise  the  home  and  the  in- 
habitants would  be  out  of  harmony.  There  must  be,  in- 
deed, the  change  of  progress ;  it  is  the  permanence  not  of 
death  but  of  life ;  and  so  the  changes  of  decay,  of  loss, 


250  THE  HEAVENLY  HOME. 

of  bereavement,  of  the  unreturning  past,  these  are  gone 
with  the  last  great  change,  which  ends  the  perishing 
and  opens  the  eternal.  There  shall  be  no  wavering  of 
faith,  no  waning  of  hope,  no  chill  of  love.  Faith  shall 
see,  and  yet  go  on  into  the  unseen ;  hope  shall  enjoy,  and 
yet  look  forward ;  love  shall  be  perfect,  and  yet  have  in- 
crease. Here,  change  at  every  step  leaves  some  lost  good 
behind  it;  there,  change  shall  take  all  its  good  things 
forward  into  fuller  possession,  and  thus  become  a  grow- 
ing permanence.  Many  a  heart  has  said  with  David, 
"  0  that  I  had  wings  like  a  dove  !  for  then  would  I  fly 
away  and  be  at  rest ;  "  and  has  found  it  no  more  in  the 
solitude  than  in  the  city ;  but  the  hand  that  is  put  out  at 
the  window  of  this  ark  of  refuge  will  ensure  to  it  peace 
always,  by  all  means.  "  There  remaineth  a  rest  to  the 
people  of  God."  We  can  rely  on  nothing  else  but  his 
promise  for  the  fulfilment  of  it.  Sometimes  it  looks  so 
strange,  so  unearthly,  so  utterly  away  from  all  the  laws  of 
nature  and  life  as  we  see  them  here,  that  it  seems  in- 
credible. We  stand  before  him  like  Nicodemus — "How 
can  these  things  be  1  "  In  what  part  of  this  changing 
universe,  by  what  reconstruction  of  this  unstable  souH 
He  has  the  same  reply  :  "  No  man  hath  ascended  up  to 
heaven,  but  He  that  came  down  from  heaven,  even  the 
Son  of  man,  which  is  in  heaven."  It  admits  of  none 
other ;  it  is  for  faith,  not  for  sight ;  for  the  trust  of  the 
heart,  not  for  the  telescope  of  science.  If  God  has  given 
us  spirits  that  cry  out  for  such  a  home,  and  if  Christ  has 
given  us  one  fixed  point  in  God's  love,  we  can  commit  all 
the  rest  to  Him.  He  who  can  create  a  spark  of  love  in  a 
human  heart,  which  all  the  floods  of  change  cannot  quench, 
can  raise  it  to  a  sun  that  shall  no  more  go  down.  Heaven 
is  a  state  before  it  is  a  place.  It  is  being  in  God,  then 
with  God.     The  locality  will  flow  from  the  heart.     The 


THE  HEAVENLY  HOME.  251 

way  to  be  sure  of  a  permanent  home  is  to  keep  fast  hold 
of  Him  who  is  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever. 

Our  Lord  teaches  us  to  connect  with  heaven  the  thought 
of  extent  and  variety.  It  has  "many"  mansions.  This  say- 
ing gains  wonderful  grandeur  when  we  think  of  where 
it  was  spoken.  The  humble  chamber  where  He  and  his 
friends  are  met  is  to  be  exchanged  for  a  palace  where  there 
shall  be  room  for  them  and  all  who  shall  believe  on  Him 
through  their  word — for  the  children  of  God  scattered 
abroad  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  time.  We  narrow 
the  walls  of  these  final  abodes  in  our  imagination  as  well 
as  our  heart,  but  both  Scripture  and  reason  give  us  con- 
ceptions of  their  vastness  that  widen  to  the  infinite.  Our 
present  life  is  related  to  it  as  that  of  childhood  to  manhood. 
Let  us  think  of  the  dwelling  of  the  child,  where  it  looks 
from  Its  little  window  on  the  few  houses  or  fields  which 
make  up  its  world,  and  then  let  us  compare  it  with  what 
the  man  knows  of  his  present  world-residence,  when  he 
has  surveyed  with  his  eye  or  his  mind  the  breadth  of  the 
earth  with  its  oceans  and  lands  that  stretch  over  continents 
by  Alps  and  Andes.  The  difference,  we  may  well  believe, 
is  not  so  great  as  that  between  childhood  here  and  man- 
hood there.  Let  us  think,  moreover,  of  the  way  in  which 
the  Bible  speaks  of  the  inhabitants ;  for  we  can  judge  of  a 
city  as  we  look  on  the  roads  and  multitudes  that  make  it 
their  centre.  There  is  indeed  but  one  gate:  "No  man 
cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  Me."  Yet  by  it  there 
passes  in  "  a  multitude  which  no  man  can  number,  out  of 
every  kindred  and  tongue  and  people  and  nation."  It  is 
a  heart-reviving  thing  when  we  can  feel  sure  that  numbers 
without  number  have  entered  consciously  by  that  wide 
door,  reading  over  it  his  own  handwriting,  "  Him  that 
cometh  unto  Me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out ; "  and  joyfully 
singing,  as  they  pass  through,  "  This  is  the  gate  of  God." 


252  THE  HEAVENLY  HOME. 

But  there  enter  at  the  wicket-gate  Christiana  and  also  the 
children,  many  Eeady-to-halts  and  Feeble-minds,  and  far- 
off  pilgrims  for  whom  we  can  find  no  names,  but  who  are 
written  in  the  Lamb's  Book  of  Life.  Infants  are  carried 
through  the  door  sleeping,  who  wake  up  in  the  heavenly 
city  to  read  their  deliverance  first  in  the  face  of  their  De- 
liverer ;  and  it  is  not  for  us  to  say  by  what  far-off  rays 
in  dark  nights,  by  what  doubtful  paths  amid  many  im- 
perfections, hearts  have  been  yearning  to  this  home. 
There  have  been  Simeons  and  Annas  outside  the  temple 
waiting  for  the  consolation;  and  to  desire  and  wait  is, 
with  Christ,  to  reach  the  door.  The  notices  of  Eahab 
and  Ruth,  of  Ittai  and  Naaman,  of  the  wise  men  of  the 
East,  and  the  Greeks  who  came  up  to  the  Passover,  of  the 
Ethiopian  eunuch  and  the  devout  Cornelius,  are  hints  for 
the  enlargement  of  our  hopes  about  many  who  had  the 
same  yearning  in  their  hearts,  though  they  did  not  see  the 
walls  of  any  earthly  Jerusalem.  And,  if  we  believe  the  Bible, 
there  are  long  eras  to  run,  when  the  flow  shall  be  toward 
God  more  than  it  ever  has  been  away  from  Him.  Though 
it  seems  at  times,  when  great  material  conquests  are  gained, 
as  if  the  soul  were  depressed  and  almost  crushed  out  under 
its  own  discoveries,  it  must  awake  to  its  true  birthright 
in  the  spiritual  and  divine.  The  ages  of  faith  are  not 
behind  us,  they  are  before  ;  for  we  can  never  be  persuaded 
that  the  world's  advance  is  to  the  gulf  of  despair.  From 
many  sides  and  in  different  ways,  from  regions  of  the 
shadow  of  death  and  from  realms  of  light.  Christ  will 
gather  inhabitants  to  the  final  dwelling-place,  and  make 
good  the  assurance  that  He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his 
soul,  that  He  shall  bring  many  sons  unto  glory,  and  be  so 
satisfied  in  his  works  that  He  shall  call  on  his  universe  to 
join  in  the  satisfaction, — "  Be  ye  glad  and  rejoice  for  ever 
in  that  which  I  create  :  for,  behold,  I  create  Jerusalem  a 


THE  HEAVENLY  HOME.  253 

rejoicing,  and  her  people  a  joy."  And  then  we  have  to 
think,  with  all  this,  that  there  are  to  be  other  inhabitants. 
From  the  beginning  of  Scripture  to  the  end,  we  have 
glimpses  of  spiritual  beings,  other  than  men,  who  serve  God 
in  carrying  out  his  purposes  in  this  world,  and  who  are  to 
be  joined  with  men  at  last  in  work  and  fellowship.  There 
is  to  be  a  gathering  together  of  all  things  in  Christ,  and 
the  holy  angels  have  relations  to  Him  which  will  give 
them  their  share  in  his  home.  When  we  think  of  this,  how 
the  extent  of  the  heavenly  world  grows! — mansions  which 
shall  contain  the  innumerable  company  of  angels  and  the 
myriads  of  saved  men,  where  they  shall  have  room  to 
expatiate  and  be  at  large  !  It  is  not  well  for  us  to  attempt 
a  premature  union  between  the  discoveries  of  material 
science  and  the  revelations  of  God's  word, — or  to  say  that 
in  some  particular  sphere  of  the  firmament,  near  or  far, 
the  mansions  may  be  forming;  yet  the  discoveries  of 
science  may  help  us  to  extend  our  hopes.  When  the 
astronomer's  glass  shows  us  worlds  on  worlds,  suns  of 
systems  and  systems  of  suns  spread  through  the  sky, 
under  whose  magnitude  and  distances  imagination  faints, 
we  may  feel  it  not  presumptuous  to  expect  that  He  who 
has  done  so  much  for  the  temporary  lodgment,  so  to 
speak,  of  his  intelligent  creatures  will  have  at  least  some- 
thing corresponding  for  their  final  residence.  And  if  in 
the  history  of  this  world,  from  the  rude  inorganic  mass  up 
to  present  forms  of  life  and  thought,  we  can  see  every 
epoch  bringing  forth  something  more  allied  to  spirit,  may 
we  not  trust  that  this  world  does  not  show  us  the  close, 
but  that  other  forms  higher  and  more  akin  to  spirit  will 
be  found  extending  beyond  these,  or  growing  up  through 
their  ruins  1  In  some  way,  we  may  be  sure,  there  will  be 
abodes  for  the  inhabitants,  suited  to  their  number  and 
character  and  wants. 


254  THE  HEAVENLY  HOME. 

But  this  promise  of  many  mansions  holds  out  the  pro- 
spect of  variety  as  well  as  extent.  In  all  God's  works  the 
many  means  the  manifold.  When  we  visit  new  lands  we 
expect  new  forms  of  life.  There  is  no  tame  monotony 
anywhere  in  the  world  which  is  our  present  residence, 
and  doubtless  the  creative  power,  which  shows  itself  so 
exhaustless  in  its  diversified  operations  here,  will  continue 
to  work  through  infinite  space  and  infinite  time  on  this 
same  plan.  It  suits  itself  to  the  wants  of  man's  nature — 
may  we  not  say  the  nature  of  all  intelligence,  which  must 
have  the  new  as  well  as  the  old.  The  divine  Wisdom, 
who  has  his  delights  with  the  sons  of  men,  had  an  eternity 
in  the  past,  "  ere  ever  the  earth  was ; "  but  He  has  his 
coming  eternity  when  He  shall  make  glad  the  city  of  God 
with  fresh  and  ever-growing  streams  of  knowledge.  Let 
us  not  think,  then,  of  the  mansions  as  copies  of  one 
another,  but  as  giving  endless  room  to  all  the  faculties  of 
God's  intelligent  creatures  in  the  study  of  his  works  and 
ways.  It  is  to  indicate  this  that  those  who  stand  on  the 
sea  of  glass  mingled  with  fire  are  spoken  of  as  singing 
the  new  song,  which  has  its  grand  parallel  in  God's  doings 
in  space  and  time :  "  Great  and  marvellous  are  thy  works, 
Lord  God  Almighty ;  just  and  true  are  thy  ways,  Thou 
King  of  saints." 

Our  Lord  further  teaches  us  to  connect  with  the  heavenly 
world  the  thought  of  unity.  It  is  "a  house"  of  many  mansions. 
The  extent  and  variety  of  the  mansions  of  the  great  future 
would  leave  us  still  unsatisfied,  would  fill  us  even  with 
perplexity  and  fear,  unless  there  were  a  centre  holding 
them  together,  and  bringing  them  close  to  our  heart. 
These  abodes  of  the  future,  manifold  as  they  are,  have 
walls  around,  and  an  over-arching  roof,  which  make  them 
one  house,  and  that  house  a  home.  It  will  be  a  world 
of  expanse  for  thought  and  action,  but  a  world  also  for 


THE  HEAVENLY  HOME.  255 

musing  and  meditation ;  where,  as  in  Isaiah's  vision,  the 
wings  may  be  spread  for  flight,  or  folded  on  the  feet  for 
quiet  waiting,  or  covering  the  face  for  inward  contempla- 
tion. To  some  this  last  may  be  the  most  attractive,  but 
for  all  holy  desires  there  will  be  a  provision  \  many  man- 
sions, and  yet  a  home. 

There  is  a  thought  implied  which  to  many  hearts  may 
be  not  less  dear.  The  chambers  of  a  house  have  their 
communication  with  one  another,  and  the  heavenly  world, 
wide  as  it  is,  shall  have  a  unity  of  fellowship.  In  the 
present  world  the  children  of  God  are  far  apart.  We 
speak  of  the  one  family  in  heaven  and  earth,  but  it  is  of 
faith  not  of  sight,  seldom  even  of  feeling.  It  is  a  multitude 
of  pilgrims  broken  up  into  little  bands  which  never  meet 
or  overtake  each  other  in  this  world.  The  word  that 
passes  along  their  ranks  is,  "  Here  we  have  no  continuing 
city  :  we  seek  one  to  come."  The  little  bands  themselves 
are  separated  by  the  emergencies  of  life,  by  inevitable 
death,  and,  what  is  still  more  painful,  by  misunderstand- 
ings and  prejudices,  by  chills  of  heart  and  jealousies ;  and 
they  rear  their  many  little  mansions,  forgetful  of  the  one 
house.  The  word  of  the  Saviour  promises  a  reversal  of 
this  long,  sad  history.  The  barriers  of  time  and  space  are 
to  be  withdrawn,  and  all  who  have  been  and  shall  be  the 
friends  of  God  brought  together  for  mutual  knowledge  and 
blessed  converse.  The  family  above,  the  unfallen  and  the 
restored,  the  innumerable  company  of  angels  and  spirits 
of  just  men  made  perfect,  shall  be  joined  by  the  family 
below,  and  the  Jordan  dried  up,  never  to  overflow  its  bed 
again.  How  the  wide  dwellings  spread  through  God's 
universe  shall  be  brought  together  in  friendship,  we  can- 
not conjecture,  but  in  some  way  there  shall  be  one  great 
palace  home,  and  "  the  Lord  shall  be  king,  and  his  name 
one."     As  we  try  to  realise  it,  our  thoughts  pass  along 


256  THE  HEAVENLY  HOME. 

the  scenes  in  Scripture,  where  heaven  bends  down  to 
meet  earth,  and  give  us  glimpses  of  this  coming  union ; 
the  vision  of  Jacob,  when  he  saw  the  angels  of  God, 
and  called  the  place  God's  house ;  the  time  when  "  God 
shined  from  Paran,  and  came  with  ten  thousands  of  his 
saints,  when  He  loved  the  people,  and  they  sat  down  at 
his  feet;"  the  scene  on  the  mount,  when  the  disciples 
would  have  built  tabernacles  that  their  Master  and  Moses 
and  Elias  might  remain  there  and  hold  converse  in  their 
hearing ;  the  sitting  down  with  Abraham  and  Isaac  and 
Jacob  in  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  the  coming  to  Mount  Zion 
and  the  heavenly  Jerusalem  and  all  the  glorious  dwellers 
whom  the  apostle  ranges  rank  within  rank,  till  he  conies 
to  the  Leader  and  Commander  of  them,  Jesus,  the  Mediator 
of  the  new  covenant.  To  meet  in  one  home  with  all  the 
best  in  God's  universe,  to  see  them,  listen  to  them,  speak 
with  them,  to  pass  from  chamber  to  chamber,  from  age  to 
age  and  world  to  world,  to  learn  the  secrets  deep  buried 
in  the  past,  and  brood  on  still  undisclosed  depths  in  the 
future, — this  will  be  part  of  the  unity  of  the  heavenly 
home.  Peter,  when  delivered  from  prison  by  the  angel, 
seems  to  have  recognised  fully  what  God  had  done  for  him 
only  when  he  was  brought  into  the  company  of  his 
brethren ;  and  there  are  poor  sufferers  around  us  confined 
to  the  sickbed  and  the  solitude  of  their  own  thoughts, 
with  none  but  God  to  bear  them  company,  for  whom  the 
dreary  loneliness  of  life  shall  be  first  broken  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  this  fellowship.  "  They  shall  be  brought  out  of 
prison  to  praise  God's  name." 

And  yet  there  is  a  hope  in  the  friendship  of  the  house 
which  comes  closer  to  the  heart.  We  have  never  seen 
these  elder-born  of  the  family,  and  we  have  never  lost 
them.  But  there  are  those  who  have  left  empty  places 
in  hearts  and  homes,  which  can  never  be  filled  while  life 


THE  HEAVENLY  HOME.  257 

lasts.  There  are  children  newly  gone,  and  fathers  and 
mothers  far  away — some  for  whom  the  heart  is  sore  in 
the  busy  daytime,  and  some  who  come  back  in  visions 
of  the  night  with  strange  and  inexpressible  sadness.  The 
house  Christ  speaks  of  has  rooms  where  He  keeps  his 
friends  safe  against  a  time  of  meeting.  "  Them  that  sleep 
in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  Him ;  "  and  this  makes  the 
promise  of  his  return  a  consolation  to  the  bereaved :  "  I 
will  see  you  again,  and  your  heart  shall  rejoice,  and  your 
joy  no  man  taketh  from  you."  There  are  views  of  the 
future  world  for  the  mind  of  man  in  its  activities,  its 
pursuit  of  noble  aims  and  lofty  ideals, — counterparts  of 
what  in  this  world  we  call  philosophy  and  poetry,  which 
must  have  their  place  there  if  man  is  still  to  study  God's 
plans,  and  rejoice  in  his  works ;  but  these  would  be  cold 
in  their  height  and  grandeur  without  trustful  repose  for 
the  heart  in  human  affection ;  and  as  it  is  said  of  God  in 
this  world,  "  The  day  is  thine,  the  night  also  is  thine," 
we  may  believe  that  there  too  He  has  provided  for  souls 
their  period  of  rest,  and  that  there  also  "  man  shall  go 
forth  unto  his  work  and  to  his  labour  until  the  evenino-  • " 
to  find  in  some  way  that,  while  the  mind  has  its  world, 
the  heart  has  its  home. 

But  something  is  needed  to  secure  this,  and  our  Lord 
teaches  us  to  carry  to  the  thought  of  heaven  a  filial  heart 
It  is  "  the  Father's  "  house,  a  paternal  home.  This  is  needed 
to  make  it  a  home  in  any  sense ;  needed  to  give  the  heart 
rest  either  on  earth  or  in  heaven.  Men  who  inquire  into 
the  facts  and  laws  of  the  world,  and  find  no  God  in  it, 
have  made  themselves  homeless.  Men  who  have  found 
human  affection,  but  no  God  beneath  it,  have  found  only 
the  shadow  of  a  home.  Thought  and  affection  are  shallow, 
short-lived  things  without  Him  who  sets  the  solitary  in 
families,— the  Father  of  spirits.     It  is  to  teach  us  this  that 

R 


258  THE  HEAVENLY  HOME. 

God  has  made  a  father's  love  the  bond  of  a  true  human 
household.  You  recollect  how  Joseph,  when  he  spoke 
with  his  brethren  and  asked  them  of  their  welfare,  could 
not  rest  until  he  had  drawn  an  answer  to  his  question, 
"  Is  your  father  well,  the  old  man  of  whom  ye  spake  %  Is 
he  yet  alive  1 "  And  when  the  hope  of  seeing  him  was 
near,  how  he  made  ready  his  chariot,  and  went  up  to  meet 
Israel  his  father,  and  fell  on  his  neck  and  wept ;  and  Israel 
said  unto  Joseph,  "  Now  let  me  die,  since  I  have  seen  thy 
face,  because  thou  art  yet  alive."  We  may  feel  sure  that 
the  restored  affection  of  his  brethren,  even  Benjamin's, 
could  not  have  filled  the  place  in  his  heart  had  his  father 
been  no  more ;  and  the  good  of  the  land  of  Egypt  would 
have  been  empty,  and  its  glory  gone,  without  his  father  to 
look  on  and  share  it  with  him.  It  is  not  that  love  like 
this  ]eads  us,  as  some  would  say,  to  think  of  having 
a  Father  in  God ;  God  himself,  desiring  to  be  our 
Father,  has  put  this  love  into  our  heart,  that  it  may 
reflect  his  own.  It  does  not  begin  below,  but  is  a  gift 
which  comes  from  above  from  the  Father  of  lights.  Let 
a  soul  but  once  awake  truly  to  the  feeling  of  its  miseiy,  if 
it  is  orphaned  in  the  universe,  no  pitying  eye  looking 
down  on  its  solitude,  no  hand  to  guide  its  wanderings  or 
hold  it  up  in  its  weakness,  no  infinite  heart  to  which  it 
can  bring  its  own  when  wounded  and  bleeding,  let  it  see 
or  think  it  sees  that  the  world  is  fatherless,  and  that 
there  is  no  hope  beyond  the  grave  for  those  that  are 
broken  in  their  heart  and  grieved  in  their  minds,  and  I 
cannot  understand  how  that  soul  should  not  be  smitten 
with  despair.  If  it  were  possible  to  enter  heaven  and  find 
no  Father  there,  heaven  would  be  the  grave  of  hope.  The 
soul  might  search  its  many  mansions,  as  Mary  sought 
Christ's  grave,  and  when  it  found  no  God  it  would  stand 
without  the  door  weeping  as  before  an  empty  sepulchre. 


THE  HEAVENLY  HOME.  259 

To  cry  for  Him  and  hear  no  answer,  would  be,  in  the 
words  of  Eichter's  dream,  "  to  listen  only  to  the  eternal 
storm,  which  no  one  governs ;  to  look  to  the  immeasur- 
able firmament  for  a  divine  eye,  and  to  meet  a  black, 
bottomless  socket ; "  and  then  the  soul  might  choose 
"strangling  and  death  rather  than  life."  But  what  will 
make  the  heavenly  house  a  home  is  that  it  will  have,  not 
friends  and  brethren  only,  but  a  Father,  whose  presence  will 
fill  it,  and  make  itself  felt  in  every  pulse  of  every  heart. 

If  we  were  to  think  of  every  mansion  in  it  having 
its  four  enclosing  walls,  each  would  have  its  inscription 
written  by  God's  own  hand.  There  are  those  who  have 
often  doubted  their  acceptance  and  forgiveness,  who 
have  walked  in  darkness  and  with  difficulty  stayed 
themselves  on  God,  questioning  whether  they  might 
not  in  the  end  be  castaways  ;  and  it  stands  inscribed, 
"Thy  sins  which  are  many  are  forgiven  thee."  There 
are  those  who  have  felt  the  want  of  the  likeness  they 
should  bear  to  God,  and  of  the  love  of  gratitude  which 
should  bestow  it  on  them.  They  take  home  to  them- 
selves the  reproach,  "Their  spot  is  not  the  spot  of  his 
children :  is  not  He  thy  Father  that  hath  bought  thee  1 " 
For  them  it  is  written,  "  Ye  backsliding  children,  I  will 
heal  your  backslidings."  "And  they  shall  see  his  face, 
and  his  name  shall  be  on  their  foreheads."  There  are 
those  who  have  felt  all  through  life  as  if  God  were 
turned  to  be  their  enemy,  and  were  fighting  against 
them.  Their  desires  have  been  thwarted,  their  hearts 
pierced  through  and  through  with  losses  and  crosses  and 
cruel  wounds,  and  failure  upon  failure  has  followed  their 
plans.  But  it  is  written,  "Whom  the  Lord  loveth  He 
correcteth,  even  as  a  father  the  son  in  whom  he  de- 
lighteth ;  "  and  under  it,  "  All  things  work  together  for 
good  to  them  that  love  God."     And  there  are  those  who 


260  THE  HEAVENLY  HOME. 

have  yearnings  of  heart  to  feel  God's  presence  close  and 
constant,  to  hear  Him  and  speak  with  Him,  and  be  sure 
He  is  not,  as  some  would  say  to  them,  a  voice  or  a  vision 
or  a  dream  of  their  fond  imagination.  They  have  felt  it 
at  times  so  certain  that  they  could  say,  "  The  Lord  is  the 
strength  of  my  life  ;  of  whom  shall  I  be  afraid  1 "  But 
clouds  roll  in  on  the  assurance,  aud  the  voice  seems  far 
off  or  silent,  as  if  it  were  among  the  trees  of  the  garden , 
and  it  is  toward  evening,  and  there  is  doubt  and  fear. 
But  it  shall  be  "  as  the  light  of  the  morning,  when  the 
sun  riseth,  even  a  morning  without  clouds ;  as  the  tender 
grass  springing  out  of  the  earth  by  clear  shining  after 
rain ; "  and  his  name  shall  be  written  as  the  "  Father  of 
lights,  witli  whom  is  no  variableness,  neither  shadow  of 
turning."  And  he  who  reads  it  shall  say,  "  Thou  art  my 
Father,  my  God,  and  the  rock  of  my  salvation."  Here  is 
hope  and  aim  for  stricken  spirits  and  solitary  hearts. 
There  is  a  Father,  there  is  a  home.  The  sky  is  not 
empty,  the  world  is  not  orphaned.  "  Doubtless  Thou  art 
our  Father,  our  Eedeemer." 

Our  Lord  has  taught  us  to  connect  heaven  with  the 
thought  of  Himself — "  My  "  Father's  house.  Heaven  is  the 
house  of  Christ's  Father.  It  is  as  when  an  arch  is  built, 
and  last  the  keystone  is  put  in  which  binds  it  all  into 
one ;  or  as  when  a  palace  has  been  raised  with  all  its 
rooms  and  their  furniture  complete,  but  it  is  dark  or 
dimly  seen  by  lights  carried  from  place  to  place.  The 
sun  arises,  and  by  the  central  dome  the  light  is  poured 
into  all  the  corridors  and  chambers,  and  by  the  windows 
there  are  prospects  over  hill  and  valley  and  river.  The 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  sun  of  this  house.  If  we 
think  of  its  mansions,  and  wonder  where  the  final  resting- 
place  shall  be,  it  is  where  Christ  takes  up  his  dwelling. 
His  person  is  the  place  of  heaven — "  that  they  may  be 


THE  HEAVENLY  HOME.  261 

with  Me  where  I  am."  If  we  think  of  its  extent  and 
variety,  our  imagination  might  be  bewildered,  and  our 
soul  chilled  by  boundless  fields  of  knowledge,  which  stir 
the  intellect  and  famish  the  heart;  but  where  He  is, 
knowledge  becomes  the  wisdom  of  love — the  daylight 
softened ;  and  a  heart  beats  in  the  universe  which  throbs 
to  its  remotest  and  minutest  fibre  ;  for  "  in  Him  is  life, 
and  the  life  is  the  light  of  men."  If  we  think  of  heaven 
in  its  unity  of  fellowship,  it  is  in  Him  that  it  is  maintained 
and  felt — at  his  throne,  through  his  love — according  to 
his  prayer,  "  That  they  all  may  be  one,  as  Thou,  Father, 
art  in  Me,  and  I  in  Thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us." 
And  if  we  think  of  a  Father  in  heaven,  it  is  Christ  who 
has  revealed  Him.  "No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any 
time ;  the  only-begotten  Son,  which  is  in  the  bosom  of 
the  Father,  He  hath  declared  Him."  Even  in  heaven, 
God  cannot  be  seen  by  created  eye;  the  pure  in  heart 
see  Him,  but  with  the  heart.  For  the  human  eye,  it  is 
Jesus  Christ,  the  glorified  God-man,  who  says  in  heaven 
as  on  earth,  "  He  that  hath  seen  Me  hath  seen  the 
Father."  He  who  gave  us  a  corporeal  nature,  and  sur- 
rounded us  with  a  material  world,  has  put  into  us  the 
craving  wish  to  approach  Him  with  our  entire  being,  soul, 
body,  and  spirit,  and  He  has  met  the  wish  in  the  Son  of 
God.  In  his  person  are  enshrined  the  infinite  attributes 
of  God,  so  that  finite  creatures  can  look  on  them,  and 
apprehend  them,  and  see  the  Father  in  the  Son.  Thus 
God  becomes  open  to  human  vision,  and  accessible  to 
human  affection. 

But  beyond  all  this,  it  is  Christ's  Father's  house 
because  He  is  the  way  and  the  door  to  it.  "  No  man," 
He  himself  has  said,  "  cometh  unto  the  Father,  but  by 
Me."  I  know  not  of  any  heaven  for  men  but  that  which 
the  Lord    Jesus    has    opened    up    and   fitted   and    filled, 


262  THE  HEAVENLY  HOME. 

and  I  know  of  no  Father  for  them  but  the  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  None  will 
ever  reach  it,  dim  as  their  sight  has  been,  and  broken 
the  twilight  of  their  groping,  but  it  shall  be  found  that 
his  foot  led  the  way,  and  his  hand  upheld  their  goings. 
Even  those  who  needed  not  redemption,  who  were  born 
and  have  remained  children  of  the  family,  shall  have 
their  knowledge  and  happiness  increased  by  this,  that 
they  are  in  Christ's  Father's  house.  They  are  adopted 
into  it,  though  it  be  by  another  adoption  than  ours ;  and 
when  they  worship  before  the  throne  it  is  for  them  also 
the  throne  of  a  Lamb  as  it  had  been  slain.  It  is  because 
it  is  Christ's  Father's  house  that  new  songs  have  been 
made  for  it,  and  a  new  and  peculiar  joy  created,  joy 
among  the  angels  for  sinners  that  repent,  joy  among  the 
saved  that  they  have  had  wonderful  deliverance,  and  joy 
in  the  heart  of  the  Father  himself — "  This  my  son  was 
dead,  and  is  alive  again  ;  he  was  lost,  and  is  found."  It 
is  this  which  gives  its  deepest  and  highest  meaning  to  the 
heaven  of  the  Gospel;  it  is  the  heaven  of  the  Eedeemer 
— "  Where  sin  abounded,  grace  does  much  more  abound." 
It  is  as  if  from  the  lava  of  a  crater  there  should  break  a 
stream  of  water  to  heal  and  purify  j  "  to  give  beauty  for 
ashes  and  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning  j "  and  to  recover 
from  the  waste  of  sin  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth,  in 
which  righteousness  shall  dwell. 

And  yet  this  truth,  that  the  heavenly  house  has  for  its 
centre  the  throne  and  cross  of  Christ,  that  it  is  the  home  of 
the  pardoned  and  purified,  makes  it  needful  that  a  closing 
word  should  be  spoken  to  be  pondered  by  us  all.  Are 
you  on  the  way  to  it,  are  you  preparing  for  it  1  It  is 
surely  the  most  reasonable  of  all  things  to  believe  that  a 
man  cannot  dwell  in  peace  in  God's  house,  unless  he  is 
at  peace  with  God  himself,  and  that  he  cannot  enjoy  the 


THE  HEAVENLY  HOME.  263 

heaven  of  Christ  without  the  mind  of  Christ.  God 
cannot  make  a  man  blessed  by  surrounding  him  with 
blessings.  He  cannot  give  him  heaven,  if  the  man  will 
not  have  God  himself.  If,  then,  you  are  refusing  God,  you 
are  refusing  God's  heaven;  if  you  will  not  have  Him  in 
your  heart,  you  can  never  look  with  loving  confidence 
upon  his  face.  All  deceptive  dreams,  all  vain  illusions 
about  what  God  may  do,  are  scattered  by  this,  that  God 
has  set  heaven's  door  open  to  you,  and  you  will  not  enter 
it ;  you  are  framing  a  heart  and  life  within  you  which 
make  misery  sure  by  the  most  fixed  of  all  laws,  the  laws 
of  the  divine  nature.  It  is  for  you  to  ponder  this  now. 
If  you  will  but  bethink  yourself,  He  who  has  made 
heaven  ready,  and  who  is  the  door  to  it,  is  now  at  the 
door  of  your  heart,  ready  to  enter  with  pardon  for  all  the 
past,  and  divine  help  for  all  the  future.  Will  you  not 
receive  Him  1  '  Lord,  I  am  not  worthy  that  Thou  should- 
est  come  under  my  roof ;  but  I  bid  Thee  welcome ;  take 
thy  place,  fill  every  mansion  of  my  soul,  grant  me  a 
sense  of  thy  presence  in  the  peace  Thou  givest,  the  peace 
that  is  thine  own,  and  then  I  shall  know  there  is  a 
heaven  reserved  for  me,  and  that  I  shall  be  kept  for  it 
by  the  power  of  God  through  faith  unto  salvation.' 


XVIII. 

THE  EVENING  PRAYER  OF  CHRIST'S  FRIENDS. 
(FOR  A  COMMUNION.) 

"  Abide  with  us:  for  it  is  toward  evening,  and  the  day  is  far 
spent. " — Luke  xxiv.  29. 

One  never  wearies  of  reading  the  history  of  the  journey- 
to  Emmaus.  There  are  some  spots  in  the  Gospel  to  which 
our  feet  turn  and  return,  almost  unconsciously,  as  a  child's 
feet  turn  homeward ;  and  you  must  have  observed  that 
almost  all  of  them  are  found  in  the  houses — in  the  homes 
of  man.  There  is  that  scene  when  Jesus  passed  through 
Jericho  (Luke  xix.),and  looked  up  among  the  thick  branches 
of  the  sycamore  tree  to  find  a  contrite  heart  in  a  man  that 
was  a  publican,  and  to  show  with  what  spirit  God  will 
dwell — "Make  haste,  Zaccheus,  and  come  down,  for  to- 
day I  must  abide  at  thy  house."  You  will  remember  that 
other,  where  in  the  house  of  one  of  the  Pharisees  on  the 
Sabbath-day  (Luke  xv.)  He  spoke  those  parables  of  the 
lost  sheep  and  the  prodigal  son,  which  reveal,  as  no  other 
words  can,  the  love  of  the  Father  of  us  all  to  his  lost  and 
sinful  children,  and  the  joy  with  which  He  will  lighten  up 
the  eternal  home  for  them  when  they  are  brought  back  to 
it.  There  is  the  house  of  Simon  (Luke  vii.  36),  where  the 
woman  in  the  city  that  was  a  sinner  stood  "  behind  Him 
weeping,  and  began  to  wash  his  feet  with  tears,  and  did 


THE  EVENING  PRAYER  OF  CHRIST'S  FRIENDS.         265 

wipe  them  with  the  hairs  of  her  head,  and  kissed  his 
feet,  and  anointed  them  with  the  ointment " — where 
reverence  and  affection  and  contrition  and  gratitude,  not 
to  be  shut  up  in  any  earthly  language,  were  set  free  to 
speak  for  ever  in  the  fragrance  of  that  act  which  a  deep 
spiritual  instinct  taught  her  woman's  heart,  and  which 
still  floats  like  sweet-smelling  incense  round  the  words  of 
Christ :  "  Wherefore,  I  say  unto  thee,  her  sins,  which  are 
many,  are  forgiven ;  for  she  loved  much."  Can  we  forget 
the  home  of  Bethany,  with  its  hours  of  holy  gladness  and 
its  days  of  solemn  gloom — its  times  of  joy,  when  Martha 
laboured  and  Mary  listened,  and  it  seemed  as  if,  in  the 
solace  of  such  a  friend,  sorrow  could  never  come ;  and  its 
times  of  anguish,  when  the  sight  of  Him  called  forth  those 
bitter  tears  He  was  so  soon  to  exchange  for  songs  of  praise  1 
There  is  the  sacred  upper  chamber  where  the  infant  Church 
found  its  cradle  beneath  the  shadow  of  the  cross,  where  its 
Saviour  and  its  Lord  poured  over  it,  in  its  unconsciousness 
of  danger,  his  divine  soul  in  prayer,  before  He  poured  forth 
his  blood ;  and  where,  ere  yet  it  knew  the  meaning  of  the 
token,  He  put  into  its  hand  the  memorial  of  his  abiding 
love,  which  has  come  down  to  ours  through  many  genera- 
tions, and  may  pass  through  many  still,  before  again  it 
reach  his  own. 

It  would  seem  as  if  He  who  rejoiced  in  "  the  habitable 
parts  of  the  earth,  and  whose  delights  were  with  the 
sons  of  men,"  desired  when  He  entered  the  world  in  man's 
nature  to  gather  the  closest  and  tenderest  associations  of 
his  friendship  beneath  the  shelter  of  earthly  roofs,  and 
within  the  circle  of  human  habitations.  It  helps  us  to 
look  up  to  the  infinite  God  as  the  everlasting  home  of  the 
soul — "  Lord,  thou  hast  been  our  dwelling-place  in  all 
generations " — and  to  look  forward  to  heaven  as  the 
Father's  house  of  many  mansions.     It  lets  us  understand 


266         THE  EVENING  PRAYER  OF  CHRIST'S  FRIENDS. 

the  meaning  of  that  ancient  symbol  where,  when  God 
wished  to  show  his  nearness  to  men,  He  placed  his  tent 
in  the  midst  of  theirs ;  and  it  begins  the  fulfilment  of  that 
grand  prophecy  (Rev.  xxi.  3),  "  Behold,  the  tabernacle  of 
God  is  with  men,  and  He  will  dwell  with  them,  and  they 
shall  be  his  people,  and  God  himself  shall  be  with  them, 
and  be  their  God." 

It  is  to  one  of  these  visits  to  an  earthly  home  that 
our  thoughts  are  here  turned.  Those  two  disciples, 
with  downcast  eyes  and  hearts,  had  pursued  their  way 
thus  far.  The  shades  of  night  were  closing  round  them, 
but  rays  of  faith  and  hope  were  beginning  to  shine 
in  upon  their  soul.  "It  came  to  pass  that  at  evening 
time  it  was  light."  From  the  mysterious  stranger 
who  had  joined  their  company,  views  of  God's  plan 
of  salvation  had  visited  their  mind,  which  made  the 
cross,  that  had  been  once  a  stumbling-block,  take  new 
form  and  meaning,  and  the  death  of  the  Lord  and  Master, 
whom  they  despaired  of  seeing  any  more,  become  the 
spring  of  new  and  heavenly  hopes.  They  had  reached  the 
place  of  their  destination,  and  were  about  to  enter  the 
house.  Their  unknown  friend  was  passing  on,  and  would 
have  left  them  had  they  permitted  Him.  It  is  his  manner 
so  to  try  the  hearts  of  men  ;  for,  though  He  comes  unasked, 
He  must  be  invited  to  stay.  Nor  did  the  first  request,  as 
it  would  seem,  prevail.  It  needed  urgency  and  this  earnest 
petition,  "  They  constrained  Him,  saying,  Abide  with  us ; 
for  it  is  toward  evening,  and  the  day  is  far  spent.  And  He 
went  in  to  tarry  with  them." 

With  this  evening  prayer  of  Christ's  friends  before  us, 
we  shall  consider,  first,  some  of  the  feelings  which  must 
have  been  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  here  presented  it ; 
and,  second,  some  of  the  circumstances  in  which  it  may  be 
offered  by  us. 


THE  EVENING  PRAYER  OF  CHRIST'S  FRIENDS.         267 

I.  First,  then,  notice  some  of  the  feelings  which  must 
have  been  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  here  presented  it. 

The  first  and  most  natural  feeling  was  grateful  interest  in 
a  spiritual  benefactor.  They  had  received  that  light  and 
comfort  from  Him  which  are  more  than  cold  waters  to  a 
thirsty  soul  ;  and  they  offer  Him  shelter  and  refreshment, — 
a  small  thing  in  itself,  but  much  as  the  gift  of  a  grateful 
heart.  They  did  not  know  the  stranger's  home,  for  He  had 
not  spoken  of  it.  He  could  not,  for  He  was  still  that  One 
who  on  earth  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head,  who  came  in 
poverty  and  disguise  to  find  for  his  humanity  a  dwelling 
in  the  homes  of  men,  and  for  his  divine  love  a  home 
within  their  hearts.  It  was  a  sacred  instinct  which  led 
them  to  press  a  resting-place,  for  kindness'  sake,  on  Him 
whose  home  was  still  far  away. 

Long  before,  one  sitting  at  the  door  of  his  tent,  in  the 
heat  of  noon,  had  seen  three  strangers,  and  welcomed  them 
to  its  shade  and  refreshment ;  and  an  inspired  writer  has 
founded  on  it  this  beautiful  appeal,  "  Be  not  forgetful  to 
entertain  strangers;  for  thereby  some  have  entertained 
angels  unawares."  It  was  a  deeper  feeling  which  drew 
these  disciples  to  welcome  this  passer-by,  and  they  enter- 
tained the  Lord  of  angels  himself. 

When  a  soul  has  become  truly  alive  to  God,  and  to 
eternal  things,  there  is  no  tie  so  pure  and  deep  as  that 
which  binds  it  to  the  scenes  and  instruments  which  opened 
its  view  to  the  higher  life.  The  higher  the  pulse  of  that 
life  within  it,  and  the  stronger  the  throb  of  its  heart 
towards  its  heavenly  home,  the  more  tender  will  be  all 
the  bonds  which  unite  it  to  the  place  of  its  spiritual  birth, 
and  to  the  friends  who  helped  its  first  feeble  footsteps  in 
the  journey  to  the  everlasting  joy.  It  is  the  strong  natures 
that  cling  most  fondly  to  the  memories  of  childhood,  and 
that  long,  in  the  might  of  their  manhood,  for  a  drink  of  the 


268         THE  EVENING  PRAYEB  OF  CHRIST'S  FRIENDS. 

water  of  the  well  of  Bethlehem  which  sparkled  to  them 
in  their  youth.  He  has  a  poor  nature,  either  for  this  world 
or  the  next,  who  can  cast  these  ties  lightly  away.  The 
spot  is  hallowed  in  memory  where  the  heart  was  first 
poured  out  in  real  prayer — the  closet  or  the  congregation  ; 
the  shadow  beneath  the  fig-tree  or  the  solitary  Bethel- 
stone  where  quickening  came ;  the  Bible,  through  the 
transfigured  lines  of  which  the  soul  first  saw  the  opening 
arms  of  a  heavenly  Father  and  the  unfolded  gate  of  the 
city  of  the  skies.  And  if  these  views  of  God  have  come 
through  living  men,  the  tie  of  friendship  begins  which 
makes  men  friends  for  evermore.  It  surely  had  its  part 
in  that  appeal  of  Ruth  to  Naomi :  "  Entreat  me  not  to 
leave  thee,  or  to  return  from  following  after  thee  :  for 
whither  thou  goest  I  will  go  ;  and  where  thou  lodgest,  I 
will  lodge  :  thy  people  shall  be  my  people,  and  thy  God 
my  God ;  "  in  that  parting  cry  of  Elisha  after  the  great 
prophet  when  he  went  up  in  a  whirlwind  to  heaven, 
and  he  saw  him  no  more  :  "  My  father,  my  father !  the 
chariot  of  Israel  and  the  horsemen  thereof;"  and  cer- 
tainly in  that  strong  affection  of  the  Galatian  Christians, 
when  the  apostle  bears  them  record  that,  "  if  it  had  been 
possible,  they  could  have  plucked  out  their  own  eyes  and 
given  them  to  him." 

It  is  on  these  affections  that  the  fellowship  of  Christian 
churches  rests,  in  which  the  minister  must  receive  as  well 
as  give.  "  For  I  long  to  see  you,"  that  same  apostle  says, 
"  that  I  may  impart  unto  you  some  spiritual  gift,  to  the  end 
ye  may  be  established  ; "  and  then  how  finely  he  supple- 
ments the  thought :  "  That  is,  that  I  may  be  comforted 
together  with  you  by  the  mutual  faith  both  of  you 
and  me."  For  what  are  we  all  in  this  world  but  travel- 
lers to  Emmaus,  speaking  to  one  another  of  all  these 
things  which  have  happened,  and  weak  in  faith   and  sad 


THE  EVENING  PEAYER  OF  CHRIST'S  FRIENDS.         269 

of  heart  alike,  until  the  great  Master  comes  himself  to 
lift  us  up. 

It  is  when  churches  and  families  and  friendships  are 
held  together  by  such  ties  as  these — by  helping  one 
another  in  the  way  of  God  and  life  eternal — that  they  are 
united  and  strong,  that  they  can  feel  there  is  no  nightfall 
which  has  any  right  or  power  to  part  them,  and  that  they 
must  turn  in  at  the  journey's  close,  and  dwell  together  in 
the  same  abiding  home.  One  of  the  enjoyments  of  that 
home  will  be  to  review  and  renew  the  intercourse  of  the 
journey,  and  to  discover  how  the  ties  were  deeper  and  the 
benefits  higher  than  our  hearts  at  the  time  understood ; 
and  how  these  sojourning  associations  were  preparing  the 
way  for  the  unending  union  of  souls. 

And  Christ  desires  to  have  a  personal  share  in  these 
ties  of  grateful  affection.  He  is  the  Author  of  spiritual 
light  and  life  to  all  who  receive  it,  but  here  He  becomes 
also  the  direct  instrument — He  is  the  channel  as  well  as 
the  fountain — teaching  us  that  his  heart  lies  hidden  behind 
every  other  heart  that  is  made  a  source  of  blessing  to  us, 
and  also  that  He  wishes  to  attach  us  to  Himself  as  "  a  man 
speaketh  to  his  friend."  We  are  to  feel  the  tie  to  all  who 
comfort  us  as  they  walk  beside  us  in  the  way,  and  yet  we 
are  never  to  forget  that  it  is  Christ  who  speaks  through 
them.  So  our  love  rises  through  the  human  to  the  divine, 
as  his  comes  down  from  the  divine  into  the  human,  and 
his  own  prayer  is  made  good,  "  I  in  them,  and  Thou  in 
Me,  that  they  may  be  made  perfect  in  One."  The  feeling 
of  this  fellowship  speaks  in  the  petition  of  these  disciples 
— the  beginning  of  a  friendship  on  the  way  between  soul 
and  soul,  which  cannot  think  of  being  broken  up  at 
the  end  of  the  day,  and  which  longs  for  the  closer  tie  of 
one  family  and  home — "  Abide  with  us  :  for  it  is  toward 


270         THE  EVENING  PRAYER  OF  CHRIST'S  FRIENDS. 

The  next  feeling  which  no  doubt  mingled  in  the  request 
of  the  disciples  was  a  desire  to  have  such  conversation  con- 
tinned.  It  was  not  only  gratitude  to  the  speaker,  but 
love  to  the  theme.  The  conversation  had  been  of  that 
which  lay  nearest  to  their  heart — of  Him  whom  they  had 
learned  to  love  as  the  highest  and  purest  and  most  tender 
of  men  whom  they  had  known  or  could  imagine.  The 
stranger  had  spoken  to  them  of  Him,  and  of  the  Scriptures, 
of  the  hope  of  their  nation  and  of  the  world,  of  that 
great  coming  Redeemer  who  was  to  turn  away  iniquity  from 
Jacob,  and  to  be  God's  salvation  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
They  had  hoped  at  one  time  that  He  whom  they  had 
known  as  their  Master,  and  He  whom  they  expected  from 
the  Book  of  God,  were  to  be  one  and  the  same,  but  fear- 
ful events  had  rushed  in  between ;  the  black  lips  of  an 
earthquake  chasm  had  opened ;  and  a  cross  of  agony  and 
shame  rose  on  this  side,  while  the  throne  and  glory  were 
beyond  the  impassable  gulf.  They  could  not  see  how 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  and  the  Christ  of  the  Bible  could  ever 
be  the  same.  But  He  with  whom  they  spoke  had  touched 
the  very  point,  as  if  God  had  come  down  in  human  form 
to  be  their  teacher.  He  had  bridged  a  way  for  them 
across  that  chasm,  had  made  a  path  from  the  cross  to  the 
throne,  had  caused  them  to  feel  that  Jesus  may  be — 
must  be — the  Christ ;  for  Christ  must  suffer  such  things 
before  He  could  enter  into  his  glory.  Those  only  who 
have  found  and  lost  and  found  again  the  pearl  of  price,  and 
have  felt  all  its  value,  can  tell  the  delight ;  those  who  have 
beheld  the  star  of  life,  and  been  deserted  by  it,  and  have 
seen  it  re- appear  to  guide  to  Christ,  understand  the  exceed- 
ing great  joy  with  which  they  welcomed  it.  Alas  !  if  these 
joys  have  lost  their  meaning  to  us,  it  is  because  we  have 
ceased  to  feel  the  sense  of  what  lies  in  such  words  as  God, 
and  the  soul,  and  life  eternal.     These  men  felt  it.     They 


THE  EVENING  PRATER  OF  CHRIST'S  FRIENDS.         271 

were  nearer  the  fountain-head  than  we  who  live  in  this 
cold,  material  day,  and  they  had  a  sorrow  and  a  joy  with 
which  we  seldom  intermeddle.  The  love  of  their  Lord 
and  Master,  his  truth  and  tender  compassion,  the  beauty 
and  glory  of  the  Scripture  plan  rose  before  them  as  fresh 
as  the  sun  new  risen  over  the  sea,  and  they  felt  as  if  they 
could  gaze  on  it  for  ever.  The  quiet  evening  hours  offer 
the  continuance  of  such  converse,  and  in  the  hope  of  it 
they  urge  his  stay.  Nor  can  we  think  that  there  is  much 
of  either  truth  or  grace  in  any  soul  where  such  a  sign 
does  not  appear.  He  who  has  learned  to  look  on  the 
face  of  truth  at  all  will  not  coldly  turn  from  it,  or  let  it 
go  its  way  with  the  evening  dark,  without  a  word  like 
"  Abide  with  us."  His  cry  is  that  of  the  hungering  chil- 
dren of  the  family  of  God  :  "  Lord,  evermore  give  us  this 
bread ; "  and  his  question  that  which  finds  the  life-bread 
only  with  One  :  "  Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go  ?  Thou  hast 
the  words  of  eternal  life." 

There  are  some  who  speak  of  such  a  request  as  selfish. 
We  should  be  willing,  they  say,  to  take  from  God  what 
He  is  pleased  to  give,  and  cherish  no  wish  further.  It  is 
enough  to  have  converse  with  Him  on  the  way,  whether 
we  have  a  home  with  Him  or  not  when  the  evening  comes. 
These  men  do  not  consider  the  nature  of  the  blessing  which 
God  bestows  when  He  holds  converse  with  the  soul.  It 
is  not  outward  gifts  from  his  hand ;  it  is  the  truth  and 
love  which  are  taken  from  his  own  heart ;  it  is  the  gift  oi 
Himself.  "/  am  your  God."  If  any  one  can  carelessly 
turn  from  this,  he  has  not  seen  God  neither  known  Him. 
I  can  imagine  a  man  dealing  so  with  some  intellectual 
phantasm  of  his  own  mind,  wearied  out  with  working  at 
the  problem  of  a  universe  which  he  can  never  solve,  and 
glad  to  go  to  sleep,  though  even  he  must  rise  to  higher 
desires  at  times,  and  wish  to  see  the  thread  of  truth  nn- 


272         THE  EVENING  PRAYER  OF  CHRIST'S  FRIENDS. 

wound  to  its  primal  source.  But  that  a  man  should  have 
learned  to  look  on  the  face  of  God  as  a  Father,  that  he 
should  have  felt  his  heart  beat"  with  some  of  his  divine  life 
and  burn  within  him  at  the  thought  of  his  love,  and  that  he 
should  be  indifferent  to  the  hope  of  ever  seeing  Him  again 
— this  is  impossible.  He  who  has  had  such  fellowship  in  the 
thoughts  of  God  on  the  way  will  desire  to  have  them  also 
in  the  house  at  nightfall.  He  cannot  surrender  them  at 
the  setting  of  any  earthly  sun,  but  will  pray  as  these  dis- 
ciples did,  "  Abide  with  us,  for  it  is  toward  evening." 

The  last  feeling  we  mention  in  the  hearts  of  these 
friends  of  Christ  was  the  presentiment  of  something  more  than 
they  had  yet  seen  or  heard.  They  had  gratitude  to  the 
speaker,  they  had  love  to  the  theme,  but  they  felt  that 
there  was  still  a  mystery  behind.  They  had  learned 
much,  but  their  heart  told  them  they  had  not  learned  all. 
There  is  often  a  feeling  in  the  soul  which  flashes  to  a 
hidden  secret,  and  reason  has  to  find  its  way  slowly 
afterwards,  step  by  step,  like  a  man  groping  his  path 
to  a  point  which  has  been  revealed  to  him  by  a  glance 
of  lightning.  You  have  felt  the  look,  the  tone,  the  turn 
of  thought  in  a  stranger  arrest  you,  and  it  called  up 
some  scene  or  friend — you  could  not  tell  wherefore — made 
some  long-past  passage  of  your  life  stand  out  before  you 
by  a  subtle  association  you  could  not  disentangle.  As 
they  walked  beside  this  mysterious  stranger  in  the  closing 
twilight,  not  only  the  truth  of  Christ  but  his  form  rose 
before  them,  and  seemed  to  walk  beside  them.  A  tone  of 
voice  or  turn  of  thought  in  the  speaker  touched  some  of 
the  marvellous  cells  of  memory,  where  the  past  lies  sleep- 
ing but  never  dead,  and  He  who  had  his  chosen  place 
there,  whom  they  thought  gone  for  ever,  arose  and  lived 
again,  and  moved  by  their  side,  as  once  before  through  the 
corn-fields  or  over  the  old  Galilean  hills.     Do  not  our  own 


THE  EVENING  PRAYER  OF  CHRIST'S  FRIENDS.         273 

dead  often  rise  and  keep  us  company  so,  and  who  can  tell 
if  not  in  truth  1  Who  can  say  whether  the  thought  may 
not  be  breathed  from  that  spiritual  world,  the  confines  of 
which  are  never  far  away — the  touch  of  the  tip  of  some 
angel  wing  that  ripples  the  surface  of  memory  to  help 
us  to  healing  hopes'?  In  this  case  certainly  it  was  so; 
the  sense  of  a  great  presence  hovered  near  them ;  a  great 
truth  floated  before  them  ere  yet  it  disclosed  itself  to 
their  eyes.  They  fear  to  ask  Him  of  it ;  they  shrink  from 
whispering  it  to  themselves ;  but  there  is  a  beam  of  light 
in  the  stranger's  look  which  promises  to  lead  to  fuller 
revelation,  a  tone  of  hopeful  confidence  in  his  words 
that  reminds  them  of  a  voice  which  once  before  spoke 
from  the  gloom.  What  if  now,  amid  a  severer  storm 
and  out  of  a  denser  darkness,  that  beloved  form  should 
step  forth  again,  and  the  words  be  heard,  "  It  is  I ;  be  not 
afraid  "  ?  Such  a  hope  of  a  risen  Saviour,  and  that  this 
was  He,  unuttered  even  to  themselves  deep  down  in  their 
soul,  and  fighting  with  fears  as  once  their  ship  did  with 
waves,  was  surely  present  in  their  hearts  when  they  urged 
this  request :  "  Abide  with  us  :  for  it  is  toward  evening." 
That  all  these  feelings  were  enclosed  in  this  petition 
we  can  scarcely  doubt — grateful  interest  in  Him  who  had 
spoken  comfort,  a  pleasure  in  the  truth  He  disclosed,  and 
a  hope  of  higher  things  to  be  learned.  They  are  the 
feelings  by  which  we  may  still  test  ourselves,  and  which 
we  should  seek  to  bring  to  the  table  of  the  Lord — grati- 
tude, faith,  and  hope — to  set  before  us  his  person,  his 
death,  his  resurrection  and  higher  life — and  to  seek  to 
realise  these  more  closely  here  in  this  chosen  home  of  the 
soul. 

II.  We  come  now  to  consider  some  of  the  circumstances 
in  which  this  request  may  be  offered  by  us. 

s 


274         THE  EVENING  PRAYER  OF  CHRIST'S  FRIENDS. 

It  may  be  said  to  be  suitable  to  the  ivhole  earthly  life  of 
every  Christian.  The  Church  of  Christ,  and  every  member 
of  it  in  this  world,  is  pursuing  this  Emmaus  journey — 
travelling  from  the  death  of  Christ  on  to  the  house  where 
He  shall  give  the  manifestation  of  his  resurrection.  It  is 
no  fiction  of  fancy  that  draws  this  lesson  from  the  narra- 
tive. What  Christ  did  for  men  when  He  was  on  earth  is 
needed  by  them  all  through  time ;  for  their  wants  and  his 
ways  of  supplying  them  are  still  unchanged,  varying  in 
outward  form  but  the  same  in  essence.  This  makes  the 
Gospel  to  those  who  read  it  aright  an  everlasting  book — 
the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever — and  every  event 
in  it  a  picture  of  some  side  of  our  spiritual  history.  Like 
these  disciples,  we  have  been  left  by  our  Lord  and  Master, 
and  we  are  pressed  with  doubts.  "We  have  difficulties 
about  things  in  the  Scripture,  and  things  out  of  it — events 
in  the  great  world  of  human  life,  and  the  little  circle  of 
our  own.  We  have  difficulties  about  Christ  and  his  cause 
— why  He  should  be  crucified  so  often  afresh  and  be  so 
slow  to  rise  and  reign,  when  the  world  is  pining  for  Him 
in  its  sin  and  misery,  and  his  friends  are  unceasing  in  their 
cry,  "  0  Lord,  how  long  1 "  Yet  He  has  joined  us  in  the 
way,  and  spoken  to  our  hearts  till  they  have  sometimes 
burned  within  us.  Through  the  dusk  there  has  come 
some  light,  and  through  the  cold  of  night  some  warmth 
from  a  Great  Presence  which  we  have  felt  even  when  we 
could  not  see  it.  If  He  has  not  answered  all  our  ques- 
tions nor  solved  all  doubts,  He  has  made  us  feel  that 
there  is  only  One  who  can  satisfy  our  souls.  If  He 
has  not  stilled  the  cries  of  our  immortal  nature,  He  has 
stirred  them  up  to  lay  hold  of  Himself,  and  breathed  into 
them  the  conviction  that  He  can  meet  them,  and  He  alone. 
"Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go  but  unto  Thee?"  And  in 
this  He  gives  us  the  fore-dancing  feeling  that  there  is  much 


THE  EVENING  PRAYER  OF  CHRIST'S  FRIENDS.         275 

which  lies  before — much  to  know,  and  much  to  possess. 
He  cannot  tell  it  on  the  way.  The  work,  then,  must  be 
one  of  faith  and  reliance  on  the  Word  of  God,  and  reverent 
listening  to  a  voice  which  comes  from  behind  a  veil,  and 
contact  with  a  world  which  sense  cannot  see,  but  which  a 
purified  heart  surely  can. 

"  A  little  hint  to  solace  woe, 
A  hint,  a  whisper  breathing  low, 
'I  may  not  speak  of  what  I  know.'  " 

Thus  the  Christian  will  cling  to  the  word  of  God,  and 
to  Christ  its  great  subject,  not  only  for  what  they  reveal, 
but  for  what  they  suggest.  We  feel  that  He  who  sustains 
us  on  the  way,  and  drops  into  our  soul  great  desires  and 
deep  presentiments,  will  answer  them  when  we  reach  the 
heavenly  house,  and  show  us  there  things  which  eye  hath 
not  seen,  neither  hath  it  entered  into  man's  heart  to  con- 
ceive. Our  life  is  now  hid  with  Christ  in  God,  but  "  when 
He  who  is  our  life  shall  appear,  then  shall  we  also  appear 
with  Him  in  glory,"  and  therefore  we  hold  Him  fast  to  the 
close.     "  Abide  with  us." 

Next,  it  is  suitable  to  those  who  are  suffering  under 
some  special  despondency  of  spirit.  While  all  our  walk 
through  this  life  resembles  the  Emmaus  journey,  there  are 
some  parts  of  it  that  have  a  closer  likeness — places  of  the 
road  where,  as  the  apostle  says,  "we  are  in  heaviness 
through  manifold  temptations."  Let  us  take  one  of  these 
adapted  to  our  present  circumstances,  when  we  are  about 
to  sit  down  at  the  Lord's  table.  Among  so  many,  there 
are  some,  perhaps  not  a  few,  who  have  not  that  clear 
view  of  Christian  truth,  and  of  Christ  as  their  Saviour, 
which  once  they  enjoyed.  There  may  be  some  of  you  who 
felt  at  one  time  as  if  you  were  sitting  with  Christ  at  the 
first  communion,  and  listening  to  his  words  till  you  could 
say  with    his    disciples.    "Now  are  we   sure    that    Thou 


276        TPIE  EVENING  PRAYER  OF  CHRIST'S  FRIENDS. 

knowest  all  things ;  by  this  we  believe  that  Thou  earnest 
forth  from  God ;  "  or  who,  like  the  chosen  three  looking 
on  his  transfiguration,  were  ready  to  say,  "  Master,  it  is 
good  for  us  to  be  here  :  let  us  make  three  tabernacles." 
But  Christ  appears  dead  and  gone  from  you;  all  the 
foundations  of  your  faith  and  hope  are  shaken ;  and  you 
are  treading,  like  these  two,  a  way  of  gloom  with  the 
words,  '  We  trusted  that  it  had  been  He  who  should  have 
redeemed  Israel.  Have  we  ever  known  Christ,  or  is  there 
a  Christ  to  know  % '  Such  sorrow,  if  it  be  true,  is  the 
testimony  of  its  own  final  success.  Never,  never  could 
a  God  of  mercy  suffer  such  grief,  for  the  loss  of  the  most 
glorious  object  that  ever  entered  the  thought  of  man, 
to  remain  unanswered,  or  let  such  a  godlike  vision 
dawn  on  the  horizon  of  humanity,  to  be  quenched  for 
ever  in  black  night.  There  is  a  Christ,  and  a  heart 
in  God  represented  by  Him,  else  death  were  better  than 
life,  and  all  this  glorious  universe  an  empty,  troubled 
dream,  a  hideous  phantasy  pictured  on  a  dissolving 
cloud.  Yes;  this  sorrow  for  the  loss  of  Christ  is  the 
assurance  that  you  will  find  Him.  If  you  can  reason  with 
yourselves,  ask  your  own  heart :  Does  not  grief  prove 
love,  and  will  not  love  bring  back  faith  1  Is  it  true  of 
you  that,  though  Christ  seems  lost,  you  mourn  his  loss,  that 
though  He  is  gone,  you  cannot  let  his  memory  go,  that  you 
turn  to  the  voice  that  speaks  of  Him,  and  grasp  at  every 
hope  that  promises  to  show  you  again  his  blessed  and  his 
gracious  face  %  If  your  heart  does  not  burn,  is  there  even 
the  smouldering  heat  of  shame  that  it  cannot  1  Then  sure 
I  am  that  He  who  quenches  not  the  smoking  flax  will  in 
his  own  time  visit  you.  Only  see  that  you  be  in  the 
way  with  Him — not  striving  to  forget  the  loss,  or  drown, 
or  deaden  it.  "  Yea,  in  the  way  of  thy  judgments,  0 
Lord,  have  we  waited  for  Thee  :  the  desire  of  our  soul  is 


THE  EVENING  PRAYER  OF  CHRIST'S  FRIENDS.         277 

to  thy  name,  and  to  the  remembrance  of  Thee ;  "  where 
you  cannot  say  "to  thy  name" — say  even  "to  the  re- 
membrance of  Thee."  Though  the  voice  sounds  strange 
that  once  was  his,  turn  to  it  if  it  speaks  of  Him.  Though 
the  evening  deepens,  despair  not  of  light  in  its  darkness. 
It  is  then  we  need  to  cling  to  Him  most,  and  then  that  He 
is  accustomed  to  reveal  Himself.  It  is  his  "  to  lighten 
men's  darkness  lest  they  sleep  the  sleep  of  death.  If  He 
seem  to  be  passing  by,  constrain  Him.  "  Abide  with  us  : 
for  it  is  toward  evening."  "  I  will  not  let  Thee  go  until 
Thou  bless  me."  0  faithful  heart,  thou  hast  wrestled  and 
overcome. 

Another  time  suitable  for  presenting  this  request  is 
in  approaching  the  evening  of  life.  There  are  some  who 
are  able  to  look  back  on  times  when  Christ  has  been  with 
them,  strengthening  them  for  duty,  supporting  them 
under  trial.  They  have  had  their  fears  and  fightings, 
but  also  their  comforts  and  hopes.  They  have  been 
enabled  to  bear  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day,  and  have 
watched  through  nights  of  trial.  But  a  sore  and  strange 
crisis  is  coming  on.  The  lengthening  shadows  of  the 
evening  are  falling  across  the  plain,  telling  that  the  last 
and  deepest  night  of  all  cannot  be  far  away.  As  these 
disciples  looked  into  the  grave  of  Christ,  they  feel  that 
they  can  look  into  their  own.  It  is  a  strange  experience 
when  a  man  comes  first  fully  to  realise  it,  that  be  must 
ere  long  put  off  this  tabernacle  and  leave  all  these  old 
familiar  scenes  and  faces  to  venture  out  into  the  dark  and 
unknown.  It  costs  a  hard  struggle  even  for  some  good 
Christians  to  look  the  probability  of  death  close  in  the 
face,  and  not  to  be  struck  with  a  shrinking  fear  of  it. 
They  are  ready  to  lose  sight  of  Him  who  has  up  to  this 
time  been  their  guide  and  comforter.  He  has  helped  in 
many  and  sore  trials,  but  here  is  an  emergency  new  and 


278         THE  EVENING  PRAYER  OF  CHRIST'S  FRIENDS. 

strange.  May  not  his  power  or  may  not  my  faith  fail  1 
Then  it  is  a  time  to  urge  this  prayer,  "  Abide  with  us  : 
for  it  is  toward  evening."  "  Be  not  Thou  far  from  me, 
0  Lord  j  for  trouble  is  near  ;  for  there  is  none  to  help." 
What  a  comfort  it  is  for  you  to  think  that  it  is  presented 
to  a  Saviour  who  has  himself  already  passed  through 
death,  and  who  comes  back  as  to  these  disciples  to 
walk  beside  his  friends  in  the  thickening  gloom,  who 
knows  the  way  that  we  take,  for  He  is  no  stranger,  and  is 
guiding  us  when  we  think  we  are  constraining  Him  !  Do 
but  hold  fast  by  Him  in  simple,  humble  faith,  and  He  will 
enter  the  house  with  you.  Its  entrance  is  low ;  its  porch 
is  dark ;  but  within  there  is  large  and  lightsome  room, 
and  blessed  company,  and  a  world  of  life  and  movement 
and  joy  which  shall  make  the  sorrowful  way  you  have 
left  appear  as  it  is — the  night-time  of  your  being.  "  And 
there  shall  be  no  night  there ;  and  they  need  no  candle, 
neither  light  of  the  sun  ;  for  the  Lord  God  giveth  them 
light ;  and  they  shall  see  his  face  ;  and  his  name  shall  be 
in  their  foreheads." 

Last,  we  remark  that  this  request  is  suitable  to  those 
who  live  in  an  age  of  the  world  siich  as  ours.  It  would  be 
unwarrantable  to  say  that  this  is  the  evening  of  our  earth's 
history,  and  that  we  are  close  upon  the  second  coming  of 
Christ.  The  world  has  probably  much  to  look  on  yet 
before  the  final  end.  But  there  are  various  days  and 
nights  in  God's  dispensations,  and  one  of  these  evenings 
seems  now  creeping  in  upon  us.  There  is  a  cold  vapour  of 
materialism  spreading  over  the  minds  of  many,  chilling  their 
conviction  of  a  living  God  who  made  and  superintends  his 
world.  The  preaching  of  evangelical  truth,  which  a  genera- 
tion ago  was  fresh  and  stirring,  has  become  to  numbers  like 
a  twice-told  tale,  partly  because  the  life  of  the  Church  has 
not  corresponded  to  its  doctrine,  and  partly,  it  may  be, 


THE  EVENING  PRAYER  OF  CHRIST  S  FRIENDS.         279 

because  our  preaching  of  the  gospel  has  become  too  much 
a  thing  of  orthodox  tradition  rather  than  of  living  experi- 
ence. There  are  outbreaks  of  wickedness  in  the  world 
which  startle  worldly  men,  and  inroads  of  worldliness 
into  the  Church  which  make  Christians  despondent.  I 
do  not  say  these  things  as  blaming  others,  but  as  desiring 
to  feel  that  there  is  an  atmosphere  around,  which  has  its 
effect  upon  us  all,  making  the  great  eternal  lights  burn 
low  and  dim,  and  fears  arise  of  what  may  be  coming  in 
the  way.  No  man  can  live  in  an  age,  whether  it  be  one 
of  faith  or  mistrust,  without  being,  to  some  extent, 
influenced  by  it ;  and  mistrust  is  all  abroad.  The  most 
venerable  opinions  are  assailed,  the  firmest  truths  seem  to 
shake,  and  those  whose  convictions  were  founded  only  on 
outside  reasons  know  not  what  to  think.  When  even  men 
who  have  walked  for  years  in  the  company  of  Christ  are 
perplexed  with  difficulties  and  sinking  in  despondency, 
what  stand  can  be  made  by  those  who  have  never  really 
seen  or  known  Him  1  There  is  only  one  duty  and  one 
source  of  safety  for  any  man  who  wishes  to  have  a  life 
that  rises  above  the  most  barren  materialism ;  it  is  to  seek 
a  close  and  personal  contact  with  the  Saviour  as  the  life  of 
his  spirit,  to  know  Christ  as  the  risen  Son  of  God,  who 
quickens  dead  sonls.  These  evening  shades  and  doubts 
and  trembling  fears,  that  settle  down  ever  and  again  on 
the  world's  way,  are  permitted,  to  compel  us  to  this — to 
urge  us  to  seek  his  fellowship  with  a  closer  access,  and  to 
constrain  Him  to  enter  the  house  with  us  and  reveal  Him- 
self in  such  living  power  that  we,  for  our  parts,  can  never 
doubt  his  truth  any  more.  We  need  not  fear  for  the 
gospel  of  Christ  whatever  dangers  threaten  it.  Calvary 
has  still  its  Olivet ;  the  shades  of  the  cross,  the  ascension 
glory ;  and  every  night  of  trouble  in  its  history,  a  brighter 
day- dawn.     The  Church  of  Christ  and  the  world  with  it 


280         THE  EYEXING  PRAYER  OF  CHRIST'S  FRIENDS. 

will  emerge  into  a  better  and  higher  time,  but  it  is  a  ques- 
tion for  all  of  us  whether  our  faith  can  stand  seasons  of 
testing  which  are  pressing  on,  and  abounding  iniquity 
when  the  love  of  many  may  wax  cold.  It  is  a  time  to  urge 
Him  to  stay  with  us  till  the  day  break  and  the  shadows 
flee  away,  to  be  more  watchful  to  strengthen  the  things 
which  remain  and  are  ready  to  die,  and  to  press  this 
prayer,  "  Abide  with  us :  for  it  is  toward  evening,  and  the 
day  is  far  spent." 


XIX. 

CHRIST  ABSENT   AND   PRESENT. 

(FOR  A  COMMUNION.) 

"  Me  ye  have  not  always." — John  xii.  8. 

"  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway." — Matt,  xxviii.  20. 

The  first  of  these  sayings  was  spoken  by  our  Lord 
shortly  before  his  death,  when  He  was  among  his  friends 
in  the  house  of  Bethany;  the  other  immediately  before 
his  ascension,  when  He  was  about  to  leave  them.  Like 
many  of  the  utterances  of  the  Bible,  when  we  look  at  their 
surface,  they  seem  in  contradiction  ;  but,  if  we  follow  them 
into  their  deeper  meaning,  they  unite  in  harmony.  Let  us 
take  them  to  the  person  of  Christ,  and  see  if  He  cannot 
reconcile  them  in  a  way  which  satisfies  the  Christian  mind 
and  heart.  He  has  given  us  a  memorial  of  Himself  in  the 
Lord's  Supper,  and  it  is  like  a  gem  with  two  facets;  on 
the  one  is  written,  "  Me  ye  have  not  always,"  and  on  the 
other,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway." 

They  remind  us  that  we  have  in  Christ  one  who  is 
human  and  yet  divine :  "  Me  ye  have  not  always."  It  is 
as  if  He  said  to  his  friends,  'I  have  been  with  you  for 
days  and  years,  till  we  have  learned  to  know  one  another 
closely  and  tenderly.  We  have  shared  the  same  privations 
and  sorrows,  partaken  of  the  same  hopes  and  joys.  You 
have  learned  to  know  Me  as  the  Son  of  Man,  a  brother 
who  can  understand  you  and  sympathise  with  you,  and 
make  compassionate  allowance  for  your  fears  and  faintings. 
We  must  separate ;  for  I  must  die,  and  though  you  have 

281 


5SS9 


CHRIST  ABSENT  AND  PRESENT. 


known  Me  after  the  flesh,  henceforth  you  know  Me  so  no 
more.'  There  is  something  very  human  and  touching  in 
this  farewell,  which  comes  at  first  like  a  hint,  and  after- 
wards becomes  more  plain  as  He  draws  nearer  his  death. 
"  A  little  while,  and  ye  shall  not  see  Me  :  I  go  my  way  to 
Him  that  sent  Me."  And  the  absence  of  the  personal 
Saviour  from  our  communion  reminds  us  always  of  his 
death  and,  through  his  death,  of  his  true  humanity.  His 
human  nature  was  not  an  appearance  under  which  his 
divinity  was  moving  and  acting  to  gain  visibility :  it 
had  everything  of  our  nature  except  the  sin,  which  does 
not  belong  to  our  true  humanity  but  takes  from  it. 
When  we  read  the  account  of  his  death,  we  can  see  that 
He  had  the  shrinking  from  that  "  shadow  feared  of 
man  "  which  we  naturally  feel,  the  recoil  from  the  sepa- 
ration of  body  and  soul  which  is  so  repulsive  to  us.  He 
realised  the  sinking  of  the  nature  shaken  to  its  inmost 
core,  which  that  strong  word  dissolution  brings  before  uss 
and  which  is  expressed  in  the  words  of  the  psalm  that 
began  his  own  death-cry :  "lam  poured  out  like  water ; 
my  strength  is  dried  up  like  a  potsherd,  and  Thou  hast 
brought  me  into  the  dust  of  death."  That  Christ  died  a 
true  human  death  is,  then,  the  assurance  to  us  that  his  life 
was  a  real  human  life.  "  Forasmuch  as  the  children  are 
partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  He  also  himself  likewise  took 
part  of  the  same — in  all  things  it  behoved  Him  to  be  made 
like  unto  his  brethren."  His  hunger  and  thirst  and  tears 
and  weariness,  his  sorrow  at  the  death  of  friends,  and 
heart-sickness  at  the  sight  of  sin,  the  clouding  of  his  soul, 
the  cry  of  his  agony,  "  If  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass 
from  Me,"  were  all  real,  most  deeply  real.  Let  not  the 
thought  of  his  divinity  take  away  from  our  view  of  Him  a 
single  fibre  of  his  true  humanity.  In  this  memorial  of  his 
death  "  Behold  the  sign." 


CHRIST  ABSENT  AND  PRESENT.  283 

But  his  words,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,"  remind  us 
that  we  have  a  Saviour  who  is  also  divine.  How  the 
shrinking  fears  of  his  humanity  were  reconciled  with  his 
true  divine  nature  is  not  for  us  to  say.  There  are  other 
great  chasms  across  which  our  thought  cannot  step,  and 
some  of  them  in  our  own  history.  We  cannot  say  why 
our  body,  with  the  feelings  and  fears  that  belong  to  it, 
should  often  fall  so  far  short  of  the  confidence  in  a  higher 
life  sometimes  gained  by  our  spirit.  But  it  is  possible  for 
us  to  hold  fast  both.  So  in  the  memory  of  the  death  of 
Christ  we  must  seek  to  realise  his  divinity.  The  promise 
to  be  with  us  alway  is  not  completed  in  the  continuance 
of  his  words  with  us,  or  of  his  example,  or  his  influence,  or 
of  his  death-memorials  going  down  from  age  to  age.  It 
has  a  deeper  meaning,  the  promise  of  a  presence  which 
implies  an  omnipresence ;  so  that  at  every  communion  He  is 
divinely  repeating  the  words,  "  This  is  my  body  :  this  is  the 
new  covenant  in  my  blood,"  and  bringing  home  to  the 
heart  which  looks  to  Him  his  nearness  in  the  spirit  and 
the  life.  And,  if  in  this  communion,  then  always  and 
everywhere.  No  sacrament  should  cut  off  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  from  communion  with  the  rest  of  our  life,  but 
should  remind  us  how  He  can  be  present  with  us  through 
it  all.  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,"  is  a  promise  to  be 
constantly  beside  us.  AVe  fondly  dream  at  times  of  our 
departed  friends,  that  though  unseen  they  may  be  near 
us,  permitted  to  look  in  as  witnesses,  or  as  ministering 
spirits  with  the  angels  to  whom  they  are  joined.  Who 
can  tell '?  But  here  is  something  more  helpful  to  us,  a 
friend  who  says  not  '  I  shall  visit  you,'  but  '  I  shall  be 
with  you,  with  you  alway,'  and  whose  presence  means  that 
infinite  power  and  wisdom  and  love  are  beside  and  around 
us  to  protect  and  guide  and  comfort  to  the  end,  true  man 
to  sympathise,  and  very  God  to  save  to  the  uttermost.    And 


284  CHRIST  ABSENT  AND  PRESENT. 

so  we  put  our  fingers  in  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  know 
Him  to  be  human,  and  look  up  and  embrace  Him  as  "  our 
Lord  and  our  God." 

These  words  remind  us,  further,  that  we  have  in 
Christ  one  whose  death  as  our  Saviour  is  all-important,  and 
not  less  his  life.  The  death  of  Christ  is  the  first  truth 
which  meets  us  in  the  Lord's  Supper :  "  Me  ye  have  not 
always."  He  instituted  it,  as  He  himself  tells  us,  that 
his  death  might  be  kept  in  memory ;  and  not  merely  his 
death  but  the  manner  of  it  on  the  cross :  the  broken 
bread  his  body,  the  poured-out  wine  his  shed  blood;  the 
memorials  twice  put  into  our  hands,  that  in  the  mouth  of 
two  witnesses  every  word  might  be  established. 

It  is  impossible  to  account  for  this  without  believing  that 
his  death  was  of  supreme  importance.  And  we  cannot 
read  the  Bible  as  a  consistent  book  without  seeing  this. 
The  Old  Testament  points  forward  to  it  in  sacrifice  and 
symbol  through  its  long  course  j  apostles  point  back  to  it — 
"We  determined  to  know  nothing  among  you  save  Jesus 
Christ  and  Him  crucified  j "  and  up  in  heaven  the  songs 
celebrate  it — "  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain."  The 
incarnation  of  Christ,  the  human  and  divine  meeting  in 
Him,  may  serve  other  ends  in  God's  universe,  but  the  first 
end  to  us  is  that  He  was  made  lower  than  the  angels  for 
the  suffering  of  death;  that  He  by  the  grace  of  God 
should  taste  death  for  every  man.  "  Me  ye  have  not 
always,"  He  says ;  '  I  leave  you  to  suffer  for  you,  to  die 
for  you ; '  and  we  do  not  reach  the  full  meaning  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  unless  we  say,  as  we  touch  the  memory  of 
his  death,  "  All  we  like  sheep  have  gone  astray,  we  have 
turned  every  one  to  his  own  way  ;  and  the  Lord  hath  laid 
on  Him  the  iniquity  of  us  all." 

But  still  this  other  word  must  be  spoken  "by  one  who  is 
to  be  a  complete  Saviour,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway."     It 


CHRIST  ABSENT  AND  PRESENT.  285 

is  the  word  of  life,  of  life  which  has  conquered  death  and 
sin  which  is  the  sting  of  death.  The  New  Testament  con- 
stantly connects  the  resurrection  of  Christ  with  the  death 
of  Christ,  as  the  seal  and  assurance  of  its  success,  as  God 
the  Father's  answer  to  Christ's  own  word,  "  It  is  finished," 
the  sun  rising  on  Him  after  the  night  of  struggle,  when  He 
saw  God  face  to  face,  and  He  and  his  were  preserved. 
Had  it  not  been  for  his  risen  life,  the  Lord's  Supper  would 
have  been  a  memorial  of  defeat.  We  cannot  see  how  the 
cross  of  Christ  could  ever  have  been  ground  for  glorying, 
had  it  not  been  followed  by  an  event  like  this.  His  dis- 
ciples would  have  striven  to  forget  and  hide  it ;  and  that 
they  did  not,  is  token  that  they  had  a  strong  conviction 
which  counterbalanced  it  and  turned  the  darkness  and 
shame  of  his  death  into  something  which  they  could  pro- 
claim with  joy :  "  Who  is  he  that  condemneth  1 " — "  It  is 
Christ  that  died,  yea  rather,  that  is  risen  again."  And  so 
we  may  take  these  truths,  a  crucified  and  a  risen  Saviour, 
and  bring  them  together  into  our  thought  of  Christ.  We 
have  two  monuments  of  them  which  stand  side  by  side, 
the  Lord's  table  and  the  Lord's  day.  We  can  follow  up 
their  history,  link  by  link,  till  we  fasten  it  to  the  very  rock 
of  the  sepulchre ;  and  through  space  and  through  time,  as 
it  were,  put  our  hand  on  Him  who  was  delivered  for  our 
offences  and  raised  again  for  our  justification. 

We  are  also  reminded  that  we  have  in  Christ  one  who 
presides  over  the  world  where  ive  are  going,  and  over  the 
world  in  which  we  now  are.  "  Me  ye  have  not  always." 
The  words  say,  '  I  am  going  to  leave  you,  for  it  is  expedi- 
ent for  you  that  I  go  away ;  there  is  another  world  where 
I  have  to  care  for  your  interests,  to  appear  for  you  in  the 
presence  of  God,  to  build  up  and  furnish  the  Father's 
house  of  many  mansions,  that  when  you  leave  the  earthly 
house  of  this  tabernacle  you  may  have  a  building  of  God, 


286  CHRIST  ABSENT  AND  PRESENT. 

an  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal,  in  the  heavens.' 
Sometimes  Ave  think  it  would  be  the  happiest  lot  on  earth 
to  have  with  us  the  presence  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in 
person ;  but  it  is  better  for  us,  meanwhile,  to  hear  these 
words  over  the  memorials  of  his  death,  "  Me  ye  have  not 
always."  They  remind  us  that  there  is  another  and  a 
greater  world  where  Christ  sitteth  at  God's  right  hand, 
and  that  our  aim  should  be  upward.  To  have  our  life 
always  rising,  and  to  carry  others  with  us,  this  is  the 
direction  and  bent  of  all  true  effort ;  and  Christ  goes  up 
before,  that  He  may  lead  the  "way  and  say  Come.  And 
when  any  Christian  friends  leave  this  world  for  another, 
though  our  hearts  may  be  grieved  at  parting,  our  minds 
may  be  at  rest,  for  He  is  there  to  welcome  them,  and  be 
far  more  to  them  than  we  could  be.  Mothers  who  could 
scarcely  suffer  sun  or  wind  to  touch  their  little  children 
may  put  them  into  his  arms  when  He  asks  for  them ;  and, 
when  our  own  time  comes,  it  gives  us  less  to  leave  and 
more  to  look  for,  that  we  depart  to  be  with  Christ,  which 
is  far  better. 

And  yet  there  is  another  word  needed  here  also.  "  Lo, 
I  am  with  you  alway."  It  is  the  promise  of  a  close,  con- 
stant presence,  not  only  to  the  first  disciples,  but  to  all 
who  should  believe  on  Christ  through  their  word.  He 
goes  away  to  prepare  the  place,  and  then  He  comes  to 
guide  and  guard  on  the  journey,  to  be  with  them  in  the 
house  and  by  the  way,  to  welcome  them  at  the  door  and 
to  help  them  to  find  it,  to  make  the  old  song  of  God's 
providence  a  new  song  of  redemption  :  "  The  Lord  shall 
preserve  my  going  out  and  my  coming  in  from  this  time 
forth,  and  for  evermore."  If  we  had  a  Saviour  only  in 
heaven  we  might  doubt  if  ever  we  should  reach  heaven. 
How  should  desolate  creatures  bear  up  in  their  loneliness ; 
how  should  worn-out  travellers  carry  their  heavy  burdens  ; 


CUEIST  ABSENT  AND  TEESENT.  287 

how  should  fainting  soldiers  face  strong  enemies,  unless  the 
Comforter  and  Helper  and  Captain  of  salvation  were  at 
hand!  And  how  should  dying  men  and  women  grope 
their  way  through  the  great  darkness  unless  they  had  his 
guidance  !  "  Fear  not,  for  I  am  with  thee."  And  so  we 
have  Him  there  in  the  noon-day,  here  in  the  twilight; 
there  amid  the  palms  of  victory,  here  in  the  heat  of  battle ; 
there  in  the  great  congregation  of  the  brethren,  here  with 
every  little  company  on  the  road  to  it :  "  For  to  this  end 
Christ  both  died  and  rose  and  revived,  that  He  might  be 
Lord  both  of  the  dead  and  the  living." 

When  we  take  these  words  to  the  Lord's  table,  then,  they 
tell  us  about  his  person,  human  and  divine ;  about  his 
work,  dying  and  rising ;  about  his  dominion  in  heaven  and 
in  earth.  Does  not  this  meet  the  desire  of  our  heart  and  all 
the  wants  of  our  life ;  and  should  it  not  be  our  endeavour 
to  bring  the  thought  of  this  friend,  unseen  and  yet  near, 
into  our  every  duty  and  trial  1  When  Christ  was  on  earth 
He  sought  to  teach  men  this  j  He  went  out  of  sight  and 
came  back  unexpectedly,  to  make  them  feel  He  was  not 
far  away,  though  they  did  not  see  Him.  He  was  giving 
lessons  for  the  long  period  which  has  these  words  written 
on  it,  "  Me  ye  have  not  always ;  "  and  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you 
alway."  Let  us  call  up  to  memory  the  little  ship  on  the 
Sea  of  Galilee.  The  night  is  dark  ;  the  sea  is  in  storm ; 
and  the  disciples  are  ready  to  perish  •  their  Master  is  absent 
and  seems  to  have  forgotten  them  ;  and,  when  He  appears, 
so  strange  is  his  look  that  the  first  sight  of  Him  adds 
to  their  fear.  But  He  comes  to  their  aid,  to  reassure  their 
hearts,  and  then  to  still  the  storm.  It  is  to  teach  us  that, 
though  we  think  Him  absent  in  danger,  He  can  be  near  for  a 
very  present  help,  if  not  at  first  calming  the  outward  tem- 
pest, yet  entering  the  heart  to  reassure  it.  Or  we  may  recal 
the  family  at  Bethany,  when  the  brother  lay  sick  unto  death, 


288  CHRIST  ABSENT  AND  PRESENT. 

and  Christ  did  not  appear,  and  the  sisters  watched  and 
counted  till  death  at  last  came,  and  the  friend  who  might 
have  helped  them  was  still  absent.  But  He  came  at  length, 
first  to  give  them  comfort  and  hope,  and  then  to  give  them 
back  their  dead  brother  from  the  grave.  And  Christ  means 
that  we  should  learn  that,  though  we  miss  Him  for  a  while 
in  seasons  of  bereavement,  He  is  at  hand  in  due  time  to 
give  the  strength  of  faith,  which  is  the  earnest  of  the 
resurrection.  Or  let  us  think  of  the  last  lesson  He  gave 
on  the  road  to  Emmaus,  when  the  two  disciples  were  walk- 
ing and  communing  with  heavy  hearts,  because  they  had 
lost  their  best  friend,  never  to  see  Him  again.  Faith  had 
gone  from  them  and  hope,  and  only  love  remained,  hold- 
ing fast  by  his  memory  and  refusing  to  let  it  go.  A 
stranger  drew  near,  unknown  to  them  in  the  dusk  and  in 
the  darkness,  or  faintly  guessed  at  through  the  veil  with 
which  He  had  covered  Himself.  And  He  led  them  on  and 
made  them  feel  first  the  truth  about  Himself,  and  then  the 
spiritual  presence,  till  their  eyes  were  opened  to  see  Him 
in  the  breaking  of  bread.  Unseen,  He  had  been  present 
with  them  all  the  while,  to  teach  his  friends  that  when 
they  are  in  doubt  He  will  be  near  to  uphold  their  faith,  if 
their  heart  continues  to  cling  to  Him.  These  are  some  of 
the  lessons  which  we  have  to  learn  through  life,  that  in 
danger,  in  bereavement,  in  doubt,  the  apparently  absent 
Saviour  will  be  near,  if  we  look  and  long  for  Him.  He 
seems  to  have  written  on  trying  providences,  "  Me  ye  have 
not  always;  "  and  yet  the  "Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway  "  is 
ready  to  emerge  when  we  need  it  most. 

This  last  lesson  of  the  presence  of  an  unseen  Saviour  was 
given  in  the  breaking  of  bread.  Then  specially  He  draws 
near  to  us ;  let  us  draw  near  to  Him,  if  not  in  strong  faith, 
if  not  in  bright  hope,  yet  with  true  love,  feeling  after  Him 
that  we  may  find  Him,  though  He  be  not  far  from  every 


CHRIST  ABSENT  AND  PRESENT.  289 

one  of  us.  The  unseen  Saviour  in  the  Christian  life  is 
like  the  unseen  God  in  nature,  hidden  meanwhile  in  the 
height  of  the  skies,  but  revealed  in  the  depth  of  the  soul. 
We  can  feel  that  the  height  and  the  depth  must  belong  to 
one  God  and  one  Lord  ;  that  heaven  and  the  heart  are 
both  of  them  his  home ;  and  that  He  is  as  great  when  He 
dwells  in  the  heart  as  when  He  occupies  his  highest  heaven. 
Jesus  Christ  is  in.  this  also  the  image  of  the  unseen  God — 
at  God's  right  hand,  and  close  beside  us  :  "  Behold,  I  stand 
at  the  door  and  knock;  if  any  man  open,  I  will  come  in." 
He  can  give  the  experience  which  was  learned  long  ago  in 
the  house  at  Emmaus,  that  the  unseen  Saviour  is  present ; 
and  it  will  be  the  anticipation  of  a  higher  vision,  which 
shall  be  a  permanent  one,  of  his  person  and  work  and  large 
and  great  dominion,  and  of  his  seeming  absences  changed 
into  a  perpetual  and  blessed  presence.  Amen.  Even  so, 
come,  Lord  Jesus. 


XX. 


LIFE  ON  THE  HUMAN  SIDE  AND  THE  DIVINE. 

"  Thou  idlest  my  wanderings  :  put  Thou  my  fears  into  thy 
bottle,  are  they  not  in  thy  book?  " — Psalm  lvi.  8. 

There  is  a  description  of  life  given  in  the  Bible  which 
has  been  objected  to  as  depressing  and  unreal.  Life  is 
represented,  it  is  said,  as  a  scene  of  unending  struggle  and 
sorrow ;  and  men  are  made  to  walk  under  a  constant 
shadow.  There  is  some  apparent  truth  in  this.  As 
existence  rises  above  the  mere  animal  view,  it  becomes 
serious,  and  often  stern.  If  we  were  butterflies  or  birds 
we  could  flutter  or  sing  without  care;  but  when  we 
realise  that  we  have  souls  we  come  upon  thoughts  that 
are  very  deep,  and  enter  on  anxieties  which  are  not  easily 
removed.  But  the  question  to  be  first  asked  is,  Has  the 
Bible  view  of  life  truth  in  it,  and,  if  so,  is  it  not  better  to 
take  it  fairly  into  account  1  We  may  flee  from  disagree- 
able duties,  go  down  into  the  sides  of  the  ship  and  fall 
asleep,  but  our  disregard  will  not  prevent  the  storm 
rising,  nor  comfort  us  when  we  are  wakened  to  look  on  it. 
And  it  may  be  a  further  question,  Has  the  Bible  no 
compensation  for  the  saddening  view  of  life  which  it 
sometimes  presents  %  Is  there  any  cure  equal  to  that 
which  it  offers,  when  it  shows  us  how  we  may  connect 
all  our  life  with  the  constant  presence  and  loving-kind- 
ness of  an  Almighty  Friend  1  Observe  how  both  these 
aspects    of    life    are   intertwined     and    interwoven    here : 


LIFE  ON  THE  HUMAN  SIDE  AND  THE  DIVINE.         291 

"  Thou  tellcst  my  wanderings :  put  Thou  my  tears  into 
thy  bottle :  are  they  not  in  thy  book  V  We  shall  first, 
then,  look  at  the  view  given  us  here  of  the  human  side  of 
life,  that  we  may  realise  how  far  we  find  it  truthful ;  and 
then  we  shall  look  at  the  divine  side,  that  we  may  see 
how  human  life  is  affected  by  the  presence  of  God. 

I.  The  human  side  of  life.  It  is  described  under  two 
forms,  wanderings  and  tears;  and  the  division,  though 
brief,  is  very  comprehensive.  Life  has  its  active  part 
in  wanderings,  its  passive  in  tears.  Man's  movements 
are  the  fleeings  to  and  fro  of  one  who  is  pursued  by  a 
strong  enemy;  and  his  resting-places,  such  as  they  are, 
may  be  called  Bochim,  "  places  of  weeping."  But  it  may 
be  asked,  Is  it  not  an  exaggeration  on  our  part  to  take 
these  words  which  David  used  of  himself,  and  of  one  part 
of  his  life,  when  persecuted  by  Saul,  and  to  apply  them  to 
human  life  as  a  whole  1  Would  David  have  used  these 
words  later  on  in  his  life  when  its  current  changed  %  He 
escaped  from  Saul,  rose  to  the  throne  of  Israel,  crowned 
his  reign  with  victory,  ended  it  in  peace,  and  has  left  his 
history  as  an  ideal  one  to  which  his  nation  looked  back, 
and  from  which  it  took  its  brightest  visions  for  the 
future.  Is  his  later  life  not  a  contradiction  to  these 
words  1 

And  yet  some  of  David's  sorest  struggles  and  bitterest 
tears  were  in  his  later  life.  He  had  daily  cares  and  fears 
which  made  him  say,  "I  am  this  day  weak,  though 
anointed  king."  He  had  harassments  from  enemies  round 
about  and  from  rebel  subjects,  from  sins  of  his  family  and 
sins  of  his  own  life,  which  make  us  sometimes  think  he 
was  a  happier  man  in  the  wilderness  of  Judah  than  on 
the  throne  of  Jerusalem.  No  one  of  David's  wanderings 
was  so  weary  as  when  he  fled  from  the  face  of  Absalom, 


292         LTFE  ON  THE  HUMAN  SIDE  AND  THE  DIVINE. 

crossed  the  brook  Kidron,  and  ascended  the  Mount  of 
Olives  weeping  as  he  went ;  and  no  tears  were  so  bitter 
as  when  "  he  went  up  to  the  chamber  over  the  gate  and 
wept ;  and  as  he  went  thus  he  said,  0  my  son  Absalom, 
would  God  I  had  died  for  thee,  O  Absalom,  my  son,  my 
son  !  "  Or,  if  we  come  to  other  and  still  deeper  troubles, 
what  wandering  so  dismal  as  when  he  sinned  his  great 
transgression,  and  what  tears  like  those  wrung  from  his 
soul  in  the  fifty-first  psalm,  "  Deliver  me  from  blood- 
guiltiness,  0  God,  thou  God  of  my  salvation  ! " 

Still  it  may  be  said,  What  reason  can  there  be  in  taking 
David's  life,  and  making  it  a  copy  of  all  human  lives  3 
Has  not  God  given  us  in  the  world  sunshine  as  well  as 
cloud,  has  He  not  scattered  manifold  pleasures  through  it, 
and  should  we  not  thankfully  acknowledge  this  1  It  is 
very  true,  and  we  must  beware  of  taking  any  part  of  the 
Bible,  and  pressing  it  so  far  as  to  make  it  contradict  both 
itself  and  our  experience.  Now,  there  are  two  things 
which  God  in  his  kindness  has  sent  to  the  relief  of  men 
in  the  journey  of  life.  There  are  the  natural  blessings 
that  are,  in  a  measure,  close  to  all,  visiting  them  often 
whether  they  will  or  not ;  and  there  are  the  helps  and 
hopes  which  come  from  a  felt  relation  to  Himself.  The 
first  may  be  called  the  blessings  of  his  hand,  the  second  of 
his  heart.  We  shall  have  to  speak  of  the  second  after- 
wards, and  so  we  turn  meanwhile  for  a  little  to  the  sun- 
shine let  in  upon  life  in  the  way  of  nature.  The  cloud 
would  be  too  dark  for  poor  humanity,  unless  God  had 
given  it  a  silver  lining,  and  it  is  neither  good  for  us,  nor 
grateful  to  Him,  to  overlook  this.  We  may  begin  with 
the  strange,  mysterious  pleasure  God  has  put  into  life 
itself — to  live,  to  breathe,  to  look  on  things  and  have 
an  interest  in  them,  to  move,  to  walk  among  them — these 
are  roots  that  go  down  into  the  world  and  hold  men  on 


LIFE  ON  THE  HUMAN  SIDE  AND  THE  DIVINE.         203 

to  it  by  an  indescribable  attachment.  Long  agony  may 
loosen  these  roots,  or  strong  attraction  upward  may  fix  them 
in  other  soil,  but  it  is  one  of  the  kind  things  in  the  world, 
that  God  has  given  man  a  liking  to  life  itself.  There  are 
many  things,  besides,  which  come  to  us  more  consciously. 
There  are  the  pleasant  sights  and  sounds  of  nature  round 
us,  the  flowers  and  birds  of  which  our  Saviour  spoke  on 
the  Mount  of  Blessings,  the  beautiful  sunlight,  the  gentle 
"  rain  coming  to  the  evil  and  the  good,"  "  filling  men's 
hearts  " — notice  the  word  hearts,  for  this  can  be  said  only 
of  men — "  with  food  and  gladness."  There  are  the  exercises 
of  the  thought  and  the  fancy,  which  take  us  away,  with  no 
guilty  forgetfulness,  from  the  over-heavy  burden  of  sore 
troubles.  We  have  been  placed  in  such  a  wonderful 
residence,  with  marvellous  floor  and  ceiling,  hieroglyphics 
and  illumination  beneath  and  above,  which  science  seeks 
to  read  for  us,  and  poetry  to  transfigure  in  far-off  memories 
and  great  possibilities.  There  is  the  benediction  of  work, 
of  honest,  earnest  work,  whether  it  be  of  hand  or  head. 
Let  us  thank  God  for  work,  if  we  are  able  for  it  in  any 
way.  How  it  wards  off  temptation,  and  beguiles  sorrow- 
ful thoughts,  and  soothes,  if  it  cannot  heal,  sore  wounds  ! 
"  In  all  labour  there  is  profit."  There  are  the  kindly 
affections  of  the  human  heart,  the  love  of  home  and 
kindred,  a  father  and  mother's  tenderness,  brotherly  and 
sisterly  affection,  the  solace  of  friendship,  the  happiness  of 
doing  any  good.  There  is  no  one  perhaps  who  has  all  of 
these,  but  no  one  is  shut  out  from  the  opportunity  of  some, 
and  it  needs  only  the  open  heart  to  have  more  come  in 
than  the  sight  at  first  perceives.  You  look,  it  may  be, 
into  a  dark,  cheerless  room,  but  when  the  eye  expands 
amid  its  dulness,  there  are  objects  there  which  can  make 
it  full  of  interest  to  some  lonely  inmate.  So  there  are 
angels  in  the  world  of  nature  which  come  down  in  the 


294         LIFE  ON  THE  HUMAN  SIDE  AND  THE  DIVINE. 

night-time,  if  we  will  listen,  to  sing  "  peace  to  men  of 
good-will." 

We  seem  far  enough  away  now  from  wanderiug  and 
tears,  and  yet  they  return  upon  us.  We  might  call  the 
Bible  to  witness,  not  as  an  inspired  book,  but  as  a  record 
of  human  life.  Here  is  Jacob,  "  Few  and  evil  have  the 
days  of  the  years  of  my  life  been," — and  Moses,  "  All  our 
days  are  passed  away  in  thy  wrath  " — and  Job,  "  Man  that 
is  born  of  a  woman  is  of  few  days,  and  full  of  trouble  " — 
and  Isaiah,  "  We  all  do  fade  as  a  leaf " — and  the  Moralist 
King,  "  Vanity  of  vanities ;  all  is  vanity."  There  is  the 
testimony  of  the  men  of  the  New  Testament,  that  life 
is  a  fight  of  afflictions;  and  there  is  the  greatest  life 
of  all,  "The  man  of  sorrows."  We  might  take  the 
common  witness  of  the  world.  It  was  a  saying  of  the 
ancients  that  "  for  every  joy  granted  to  man,  there  are 
two  sorrows,  one  before  and  one  behind."  There  is  a 
lurking  fear  of  the  serpent  under  the  flowers,  which  prompts 
the  song,  "  Let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die." 
"  Even  in  laughter  the  heart  is  sorrowful."  There  must 
be  something  more  in  all  this  than  traditional  sentiment. 

But  we  would  rather  address  ourselves  to  the  experience 
of  life,  of  those  at  least  who  have  made  some  acquaintance 
with  it.  Have  you  not  felt  this  description  of  life 
true  in  its  changefulness  1  How  few  of  us  are  in  the 
homes  of  our  youth  !  Or,  if  near  them,  how  far  have 
we  wandered  in  associations  !  Changes  have  taken 
place  around  and  within  which  make  us  almost  forget 
what  we  were.  "  Our  fathers,  where  are  they  1 "  Old 
scenes,  friends,  affections,  hopes  dead  and  gone,  or  changed 
and  far  away,  till  we  see  them  like  cloud-land,  or  like 
things  in  dreams.  We  may  have  the  new  and  dear,  but 
where  is  the  old  so  well- beloved  1  Does  it  not  come  on  us 
with  a  sense  of  wandering  and  tears  1     Or  think  of  life  in 


LIFE  ON  THE  HUMAN  SIDE  AND  THE  DIVINE.         295 

its  constant  struggle.  A  man  may  have  a  narrow  round, 
he  may  sit  in  his  place  day  after  day,  but  he  may  have  long- 
paths  of  anxiety  and  toil  to  traverse  within.  No  Alpine 
climber  has  such  panting  heights  before  him,  or  such  threat- 
ening depths  to  look  into,  as  some  men  in  the  journey  of  life 
And,  worst  of  all,  they  never  gain  the  summit  of  rest 
The  old  burden,  the  old  battle  in  some  new  form !  Rest 
is  the  cry  of  their  heart — if  we  could  only  reach  some 
spot  of  perfect  rest;  but  necessity  without,  or  impulse 
within,  forces  them  to  begin  again.  And  close  to  this 
there  is  the  imperfection  of  life.  It  never  reaches  a  fixed 
goal,  never  gains  a  faultless  and  secure  prize.  Is  this  not 
wandering  1  So  far  as  men  seek  only  natural  good,  they 
do  not  gain  it  in  their  own  estimation.  It  does  not  fill 
the  heart,  or  it  fails  to  give  the  pledge  of  permanence. 
You  that  have  found  in  family  affection  that  which  of 
earthly  things  gives  most  repose  need  not  be  told  this. 
You  have  had  your  tears  already,  and  they  bring  to  you 
this  sense  of  wandering.  My  child,  my  wife,  my  husband, 
my  brother  is  not,  and  I,  whither  shall  I  go  %  Or  if  you 
have  not  felt  this  you  can  fear  it,  and  the  fear  sends  a 
chill  to  your  heart.  No,  with  such  things  behind  and 
before,  there  cannot  be  perfect  repose.  "  It  is  not  your 
rest,  it  is  polluted."  And  herein  we  find  the  secret  of 
the  imperfection.  Impurity  is  lurking  everywhere  in 
the  world,  poisoning  the  springs,  withering  the  flowers, 
darkening  the  light ;  and  all  because  it  is  in  ourselves. 
Well  for  those  who  have  found  it  in  the  conviction  that 
they  have  wandered  from  God,  and  can  recover  rest  only 
when  they  return  to  Him — that  tears  cannot  have  hope  of 
ceasing  till  sorrow  leads  to  the  Divine  Friend.  "  Blessed 
are  they  that  mourn  ;  for  they  shall  be  comforted."  And 
after  all  these  thoughts  about  life,  some  of  us  may  feel 
how  the  human  view  of  it  suggests  its  growing  fatigue. 


29G         LIFE  ON  THE  HUMAN  SIDE  AND  THE  DIVINE. 

There  is  at  first  an  elasticity  which  makes  wandering 
please  for  its  own  sake.  The  spirits  are  light,  the  morn- 
ing young,  and  all  is  new.  But  as  day  advances  hopes 
are  checked,  difficulties  thicken,  and  strength  declines. 
The  man  walks  on,  not  from  pleasure,  but  from  necessity. 
He  ceases  to  expect  more  than  he  has  seen,  and  nothing 
can  bring  any  great  change  except  death.  Then,  if  ever, 
men  begin  to  feel  how  little  there  is  in  life  itself,  apart 
from  something  deeper  and  higher.  They  reach  a  com- 
manding table-land  where  they  can  look  all  round  and 
estimate  the  world.  What  aimless  wanderings,  frequently 
what  bitter  tears,  not  wiped  away  but  cold  and  stiffened 
on  the  cheek  !  The  compensations  God  mercifully  granted 
have  had  their  day,  and  what  have  they  left  1  Have 
they  been  a  mere  pastime,  instead  of  leading  us  to  Hirn 
who  can  give  the  wanderings  of  life  a  true  and  happy 
end,  and  can  shine  in  with  his  light  at  eventide  1  For 
life  may  be  compared  to  the  ascent  of  some  hill  in  our 
native  land.  At  first,  the  man  has  by  his  foot  the  pleasant 
wayside  flowers,  and  the  clear  stream  as  it  hurries  from 
cascade  to  pool.  Then  he  nerves  himself  for  the  steep 
breast,  and  forces  his  path  amid  rock  and  bush  till  he 
gains  the  summit,  brown  and  barren  with  hill-tops  girdling 
him  round.  And  such,  many  say,  is  the  whole  of  life. 
But  the  air  may  brace  the  spirit  to  a  higher  tone,  the  sky 
may  be  clearer,  the  stars  when  they  come  out  more  bright 
and  tranquil,  and  ere  nightfall  he  may  have  his  visions  of 
other  lands,  "  sweet  fields  beyond  the  swelling  flood,  all 
dressed  in  living  green,"  such  as  Moses  had  from  Nebo, 
and  when  he  sang  in  the  90th  Psalm  that  "according  to 
the  days  wherein  he  had  been  afflicted,  God  would  make 
him  glad."  Life  changes  its  character  when  we  can  say, 
"  Thou  tellest  my  wanderings  :  put  Thou  my  tears  into  thy 
bottle  :  are  they  not  in  thy  book  i  " 


LIFE  ON  THE  HUMAN  SIDE  AND  THE  DIVINE.         297 

II.  We  come  to  the  divine  side  of  life.  This  belongs 
only  to  the  man  who  can  feel,  know,  and  be  regulated 
by  it,  as  the  pole-star  shines  for  those  who  take  it  for 
their  guide.  What,  then,  does  the  view  of  God  secure 
for  the  man  who  looks  to  Him'?  It  secures  for  his  life 
a  divine  measure.  "Thou  tellest  my  wanderings."  That 
is,  not  merely  Thou  speakest  of  them,  but  Thou  takest 
the  tale  and  number  of  them.  There  is  nothing  so 
absolutely  fixed  and  sure  as  the  science  of  numbers. 
Some  ancient  philosophers  held  that  it  is  the  secret  of 
the  structure  of  the  universe ;  and  Plato  has  said  that  in 
making  the  world  "  God  mathematises."  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  there  is  nothing  so  like  the  sport  of  circumstance 
as  the  shape  of  life  dependent  on  the  will  of  others  and 
on  our  own.  Yet  here,  in  its  wanderings,  a  believing  man 
may  be  comforted  by  knowing  that  God  has  made  his  life 
the  subject  of  a  numbered  order.  We  ask  Him  to  teach 
us  to  count  our  days,  and  He  replies  by  counting  them  for 
us.  They  look  often  as  restless  as  a  bird's  flutterings,  as 
unregarded  as  the  fallen  leaves,  but  they  are  reckoned  up 
by  God,  and  there  shall  not  be  too  many  for  the  wanderer's 
strength,  or  too  few  so  as  to  fall  short  of  the  promised 
rest.  "  Thou  tellest  my  wanderings."  Who  can  say  how 
many  weary  exiles,  and  persecuted  remnants  in  mountains 
and  deserts,  have  been  cheered  by  this  word,  and  have 
seen  it  like  a  guiding-star  in  the  sky,  or  rather  like  the 
eye  of  God  looking  down  and  making  the  night  to  be 
light  about  them  1  And  it  is  a  word  still  ready  for  the 
help  of  all  who  need  it.  If  there  be  any  one  who  has 
come  to  feel  how  deeply  he  has  sinned  against  God  and 
his  own  soul,  who  has  gone  astray  in  dark  and  slippery 
ways  open  to  the  view  of  the  world,  or  seen  only  by 
the  Searcher  of  hearts,  until  in  his  backslidings  he  seems 
lost  in  despair;    yet,  if  his  heart  will  truly  look  up  to 


298        LIFE  ON  THE  HUMAN  SIDE  AND  THE  DIVINE. 

God,  and  if  he  will  set  his  face  homeward,  there  is  One 
who  can  tell  all  his  wanderings  to  forgive  them,  and  to 
answer  his  prayer,  "  Turn  Thou  me  and  I  shall  be  turned, 
for  Thou  art  the  Lord  our  God."  Or  if  there  be  some  one 
shut  up  in  gloomy  thoughts,  as  if  all  things  and  all  men 
were  against  him,  bewildered  and  alone,  ignorant  of  the 
next  step  for  duty  or  deliverance,  there  is  a  way  open  up- 
ward which  has  availed  many  :  "  When  my  spirit  was  over- 
whelmed within  me,  then  Thou  knewest  my  path.  Bring 
my  soul  out  of  prison."  Or  if  there  be  those  who  feel  that, 
with  all  their  endeavour,  their  life  seems  planless  and  aim- 
less, unlooked-for  events  thwarting  their  efforts,  disappoint- 
ing their  hopes,  and  making  the  world  a  place  of  shifting 
exile — here  is  something  fixed  by  which  they  may  steady 
themselves  under  a  wise  Teacher  and  Guardian  :  "  He  led 
him  about,  He  instructed  him ;  He  kept  him  as  the  apple 
of  his  eye."  There  are  people  who  meanwhile  have  no 
changes,  whose  strength  is  firm,  and  they  are  not  in 
trouble  as  other  men.  They  can  think  lightly  of  these 
comforts ;  but  there  must  be  some  guidance  in  the  world 
for  "  the  home-sick  who  wish  to  find  home,"  and  the  time 
for  it  may  come  to  us  all. 

Let  us  bless  God,  then,  that,  whether  we  be  wanderers 
in  sin  or  doubt  or  self- tormenting  thoughts,  there  is  a 
Guide  who,  if  we  ask  Him,  will  lead  us  on  to  the  closing 
words  of  this  psalm  :  "  For  Thou  hast  delivered  my  soul 
from  death ;  wilt  not  Thou  deliver  my  feet  from  falling,  that 
I  may  walk  before  God  in  the  light  of  the  living  ] " 

This  view  of  God  secures  a  divine  sympathy  in  life  :  "  Put 
Thou  my  tears  into  thy  bottle."  However  skilful  the 
guide  might  be,  he  would  not  meet  our  case  unless  he  had 
a  heart.  There  are  rough  defiles  and  thorny  brakes 
through  which  the  road  leads — there  is  no  help  for  it : 
these  things  make  it  the  road ;  but  what  concerns  us  most 


LIFE  ON  THE  HUMAN  SIDE  AND  THE  DIVINE.        299 

is  the  manner  of  the  Guide.  It  is  not  so  much  the  way 
by  which  He  leads  as  the  way  according  to  which  He  leads, 
taking  frailty  into  account,  and  providing  resting-places 
and  refreshments  as  they  are  needed.  What  an  exquisite 
tenderness  there  is  in  the  description  of  his  guidance  of 
the  people  through  the  wilderness,  notwithstanding  all 
their  provocations  :  "  Many  a  time  turned  He  his  anger 
away — for  He  remembered  that  they  were  flesh  j  a  wind 
that  passeth  away,  and  cometh  not  again."  But  the 
sympathy  here  is  not  so  much  for  those  who  are  in  move- 
ment as  for  those  who  are  brought  to  a  stand.  There  are 
times  when  we  cannot  walk,  cannot  work,  when  we  can 
only  suffer.  "  He  sitteth  alone,  and  keepeth  silence,  be- 
cause he  hath  borne  it  upon  him."  Our  Saviour  felt  this 
to  be  the  hardest  part.  While  He  was  in  the  active  path 
of  duty,  it  was  a  gladsome  thing  to  Him — "  My  meat  is  to 
do  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  Me."  But  when  He  had  to 
suffer  it,  the  cup  was  bitter  :  "  If  it  be  possible,  let  this 
cup  pass  from  Me."  Though  his  case  was  very  different 
from  ours,  we  too  feel  how  much  more  easy  it  is  to  do  the 
hardest  work  than  to  sit  and  endure.  Then  most  of  all 
we  feel  the  need  of  sympathy ;  and  yet  then  it  is  some- 
times most  difficult  to  find  it.  Some  kind  friends  who 
will  assist  us  in  toil,  and  succour  us  in  danger,  have  a  dis- 
like to  be  near  us  in  suffering,  and  they  have  no  patience 
with  tears.  But  God  has  patience  with  tears  ;  "  Put  Thou 
my  tears  into  thy  bottle."  It  is  not  necessary  to  enter  in 
any  minute  wray  into  the  figure ;  the  general  meaning  of 
it  is  clear.  This,  first  of  all,  is  taught  us,  that  God  is  close 
beside  a  sufferer  in  the  time  of  sore  trial ;  so  near  that 
He  can  mark  and  catch  the  tears.  I  do  not  think  we 
could  have  understood  this  at  all  but  for  the  thought 
of  the  Son  of  God  coming  down  and  sitting  with  the 
weary  by  the  wayside  and  in  the  houses  of  grief,  and 


300        LIFE  ON  THE  HUMAN  SIDE  AND  THE  DIVINE. 

weeping  Himself  at  the  grave.  There  is  a  way  of  looking 
at  all  this  as  if  it  were  an  impossible  dream,  but  if  we 
think  of  Him  who  made  us  with  human  hearts  as  having 
a  heart  in  Himself,  then  that  the  Lord  Jesus  should  enter 
the  world  to  bring  that  heart  nearer  us  is  not  so  strange, 
— it  seems  natural.  But  the  language  here  implies  that 
the  tears  are  not  only  marked  and  sympathised  with,  they 
are  preserved.  They  enter  into  God's  memory,  and  be- 
come prayers  :  "  Hold  not  thy  peace  at  my  tears."  It  is 
true  that,  like  other  prayers,  they  may  not  be  answered  at 
once.  We  often  wonder  that  it  should  be  said,  "  Like  as 
a  father  pitieth  his  children,  so  the  Lord  pitieth  them 
that  fear  Him,"  and  yet  that  He  should  let  them  suffer  so 
much  and  so  long.  So  long !  He  seems  to  be  hiding 
their  tears,  and  so  He  is;  but,  meanwhile,  He  sends 
hidden  strength  and  comfort.  "  He  gives  them  tears  to 
drink  in  great  measure,"  but,  like  their  wanderings,  it  is 
in  measure.  And  the  language  implies,  moreover,  that 
the  tears  shall  be  brought  forth  again.  It  is  for  this  they 
are  marked  and  preserved.  The  tears  of  God's  people  are 
like  "  nature's  tear-drops,"  as  they  have  been  called,  lying 
all  night  long  on  the  branches ;  but,  when  the  light  comes 
at  last,  nothing  reflects  God's  sunrise  so  clearly,  or  seems 
so  much  to  rejoice  in  it,  as  the  drops  of  dew  from  the 
womb  of  the  morning.  Whether  they  be  natural  tears,  as 
those  of  Mary  and  Martha  for  their  dead  brother,  or  con- 
trite tears,  like  those  of  the  woman  in  Simon's  house,  or 
tears  of  sorrow  about  the  state  of  the  world  and  the 
mysteries  of  God's  providence,  as  of  him  who  wept  much 
because  no  man  was  found  worthy  to  open  and  to  read  the 
book,  they  shall  be  found  to  have  been  all  kept  and  re- 
corded and  finally  answered. 

This  view  of  God  secures  a  divine  meaning  in  life — "  Are 
they  not  in  thy  book?"     It  is  natural  to  understand  this 


LIFE  ON  THE  HUMAN  SIDE  AND  THE  DIVINE.  301 

of  both  the  wanderings  and  the  tears.  They  are  written 
down,  and  this  gives  us  an  additional  thought  about  them. 
When  a  man  puts  matter  into  a  book  he  seeks  to  give  it 
an  intelligent  and  consistent  meaning.  He  collects  his 
facts,  joins  them  one  to  another,  and  compacts  them  into 
a  continuous  whole.  It  is  possible,  then,  if  a  man  puts  all 
his  wanderings  and  tears  into  the  hand  of  God,  that  they 
may  be  seen  at  last  to  end  in  a  plan — man  freely  contri- 
buting his  part,  and  God  suggesting  and  guiding.  Even 
now,  when  we  look  back  from  some  points  of  the  road,  we 
can  trace  the  beginning  of  this.  Things  which  at  the 
time  looked  accidental  have  determined  the  course  of  our 
existence  in  its  most  important  interests,  and  events  we 
feared  have  turned  out  to  be  our  greatest  blessings.  An- 
other hand  than  our  own  supplied  the  material,  and  we 
had  to  choose,  or  rather  were  helped  in  our  choice  by  that 
same  hand.  If  we  have  chosen  God  ward,  and  taken  the 
higher  road,  we  begin  to  see  a  growing  plan  of  kindness 
which  gives  us  the  conviction  that  when  the  book  of  life 
is  completed  all  that  is  dark  and  doubtful  will  be  ex- 
plained. There  are  different  "  books  of  God  "  spoken  of  in 
the  Bible.  There  is  the  book  of  our  natural  life,  in  which 
"  all  our  members  were  written ;"  and  there  is  "  the  Lamb's 
book  of  life  "  for  them  that  enter  the  holy  city.  There 
is  the  "  book  of  the  wars  of  the  Lord,"  as  we  may  call 
that  which  contains  the  deeds  of  those  who  have  wrought 
righteousness,  and  waxed  valiant  in  fight ;  and  the  "  book 
of  remembrance,"  for  the  converse  of  them  that  feared  the 
Lord  in  evil  times.  But  surely  not  the  least  interesting 
will  be  this,  which  holds  the  wanderings  and  tears  of  God's 
people,  when  the  divine  side  of  them  is  fully  revealed. 
We  may  think  of  it  as  a  history,  and  then  its  theme  will 
be,  "  They  wandered  in  the  wilderness  in  a  solitary  way ; 
they  found  no  citv  to  dwell  in.     And  He  led  them  forth  by 


302  LIFE  ON  THE  HUMAN  SIDE  AND  THE  DIVINE. 

the  right  way,  that  they  might  go  to  a  city  of  habitation." 
We  may  think  of  it  as  a  high  argument,  and  then  its  basis 
is,  "  And  we  know  that  all  things  work  together  for  good 
to  them  that  love  God."  Or  we  may  think  of  it  as  some 
transcendent  poem,  and  then  the  strain  will  be,  "  Nay,  in 
all  these  things  we  are  more  than  conquerors  through  Him 
that  loved  us."  And,  if  God  writes  his  book  of  lives,  it 
is  not  that  He  may  let  it  moulder  into  nothingness,  or  lie 
idly  past.  He  works  and  writes  for  readers.  He  has 
stone  tablets  for  the  history  of  his  meanest  creatures, 
records  preserved  on  their  tombs,  as  is  befitting  those 
that  have  an  existence  only  in  time;  but  for  his  sons  and 
daughters  He  must  have  a  more  complete  and  livin ; 
history,  and  means  by  which  those  who  are  most  deeply 
concerned  in  it  shall  peruse  it.  We  cannot  but  think  that 
this  shall  be  one  of  the  occupations  of  eternity,  to  read  the 
meaning  of  the  past  in  the  possessions  of  the  future,  and 
this  not  for  each  one  interested  in  himself  alone,  but  for 
each  interested  in  all.  Then  the  words  of  the  Lord  shall 
have  a  perfect  fulfilment,  "  What  thou  knowest  not  now, 
thou  shalt  know  hereafter."  Every  wandering  and  every  tear 
shall  have  over-against  it,  as  its  counterpart,  some  lesson, 
some  blessing.  We  may  apply  to  them  the  saying  of  the 
prophet,  "  Seek  ye  out  of  the  book  of  the  Lord  and  read. 
No  one  of  these  shall  fail,  none  shall  want  its  mate." 
What  wondering  curiosity,  what  high  and  holy  expectancy 
may  this  not  excite  in  us,  that  we  shall  have  such  a  book 
to  read,  if  God  in  his  wonderful  mercy  bring  us  first 
to  read  our  names  in  that  other  book — the  book  of  life  ! 
And  what  dignity  and  deep,  composed  joy  should  it  give 
to  our  sojourn  in  the  world,  changing  our  wanderings  even 
already  into  a  heavenward  walk,  and  brightening  our  tears 
into  divine  hopes  ! 

Having  looked  at  these  two  sides   of  life,  we  cannot 


LIFE  ON  THE  HUMAN  SIDE  AND  THE  DIVINE.         303 

part  with  them  without  a  few  thoughts  which  may  give 
them  a  still  closer  practical  bearing.  If  there  are  those 
who  object  to  the  Bible  view  of  the  world  in  its  shadows, 
let  us  ask,  Does  it  not  offer  a  glorious  counter-vailing 
light1?  Would  you  take  the  short  and  superficial  side 
that  belongs  to  time,  and  exclude  what  is  grandest  and 
most  divine  1  If  a  man  will  consider  with  himself,  and 
have  the  courage  to  look  within,  he  has  depths  which  go 
down  below  the  senses,  below  the  mere  intelligence,  into 
the  heart,  the  conscience,  the  spirit ;  and  no  view  can  be 
true  which  does  not  take  account  of  these.  It  is  from 
these  depths,  with  all  the  solemnity  and  struggle  which 
belong  to  them,  that  the  heights  arise.  This  is  the  true 
universe.  No  profound  searching  of  the  soul  into  itself? 
Then  no  hill  of  God  above.  "  Out  of  the  depths  have  I 
cried  unto  Thee,  0  Lord."  It  is  still  as  of  old — evening 
and  then  morning  were  the  first  day. 

But  how  shall  we  find  our  way  upward  1 — how  pass  from 
the  natural  to  the  divine  life?  Do  you  not  seem  to  feel  that 
while  David  was  speaking  there  was  also  another  sufferer, 
even  He  who  has  said,  "It  is  written  in  the  psalms  concerning 
Me'"?  Wherever  there  has  been  a  soul  struggling  toward 
God,  it  has  been  Christ's  life  that  was  in  it.  He  is  the 
"  root "  as  well  as  "  the  offspring  of  David,"  and  his  spirit 
was  moving  beneath,  inspiring  desires  which  were  going 
forward,  as  He  himself  was,  to  his  visible  coming  as  the 
Son  of  God,  the  Saviour  of  men.  He  came  and  had  his 
wanderings  and  tears  for  them  and  for  us  all ;  and  in  the 
volume  of  the  book  it  was  written  of  Him  that  He  delighted 
in  God's  will  for  our  salvation.  Neither  is  there  salvation 
in  any  other.  In  whatever  night  or  twilight  men  have 
been  feeling  after  God,  it  will  be  found  that  He  was  not 
far  from  every  one  of  them.  And  now,  would  you  have 
it  in  the  open  language  of  God's  word  *? — "  I  am  crucified 


304  LIFE  ON  THE  HUMAN  SIDE  AND  THE  DIVINE. 

with  Christ :  nevertheless  I  live ;  yet  not  I,  but  Christ 
liveth  in  me ;  and  the  life  which  I  now  live  in  the  flesh  I 
live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me,  and 
gave  Himself  for  me."  This  is  the  transition  from  the 
natural  to  the  divine — such  a  hand  laid  on  Christ  as 
gives  us  his  life  even  unto  the  death  for  us,  and  then  his 
life  springing  up  through  death  within  us. 

And  would  you  know  how  it  may  advance  in  growing 
consciousness  ?  We  feel  as  if  we  could  learn  it  from  the 
way  in  which  the  soul  of  the  speaker  here  has  been  rising 
to  fuller  confidence  in  God.  First  it  is  a  simple  faith — 
"  Thou  tellest  my  wanderings," — my  sins  to  bring  me  to 
thy  grace,  my  pilgrimage  to  bring  me  to  thy  glory. 
And  then  faith  ascends  in  prayer,  that  God  would  take  all 
life's  trials  and  hide  them  and  the  sufferer  in  Himself — 
"  Put  Thou  my  tears  into  thy  bottle."  And,  last  of  all, 
prayer  becomes  the  communion  of  friend  with  friend, — 
"Are  they  not  in  thy  book  ?"  If  you  have  your  foot  on 
the  first  step  of  this  ladder,  let  it  be  your  endeavour  to 
rise  from  faith  through  prayer  and  fellowship  into  the 
higher  life,  where  the  human  is  not  lost,  but  purified  and 
blessed  in  the  divine.  If  this  step  has  not  been  taken, 
remember  that,  though  for  a  time  the  deeper  side  of  life 
may  be  denied  or  slighted,  it  will  assert  itself  whether 
men  will  or  not.  Sin,  trial,  death,  are  realities,  and  those 
who  refuse  the  divine  help  should  bethink  themselves 
how  they  are  to  face  these  issues  unaided  and  alone. 


XXI. 

TROUBLE   AT   THE    THOUGHT   OF   GOD. 

"  I  remembered  God,  and  was  troubled." — Psalm  lxxvii.  3. 

This  psalm  gives  the  experience  of  a  man  in  deep  per- 
plexity. When  we  read  it  we  are  ready  to  think  that 
men  have  not  now  the  same  power  of  feeling  on  spiritual 
subjects.  With  the  progress  of  knowledge  the  soul's 
sensibility  would  seem  to  have  been  blunted  :  so  deeply 
earnest,  so  profoundly  miserable  were  these  men  till  they 
gained  the  great  object  of  life,  and  saw  the  face  of  God  in 
righteousness.  And  yet  surely  such  men  have  been  found 
all  through  time,  with  a  burning  fire  in  them,  kindled  by 
the  power  of  the  world  to  come,  and  counting  all  things 
of  little  moment  till  they  could  stand  right  with  God. 
Such  men  were  Paul  and  Augustine,  and  the  great 
Reformers,  and  Pascal,  and  Bunyan,  and  Haliburton,  and 
Payson,  and  M'Cheyne,  and  many  more,  widely  different, 
as  we  have  sought  to  name  them,  in  church  and  intellect, 
but  enclosing  in  their  nature  the  one  divine  spark  that 
will  return  to  Him  who  gave  it.  It  is  well  for  us  to 
learn  how  we  ought  to  feel,  by  coming  into  contact  with 
them,  with 

"  All  that  chivalry  of  fire, 
The  soldier-saints  who,  row  on  row, 
Burn  upward  each  to  his  point  of  bliss. 
Since,  the  end  of  life  being  manifest, 
They  burned  their  way  thro'  the  world  to  this." 

To  these  men  belonged  the  writer  of  this  psalm.  No 
wonder  that  with    such  a  seeker  the  psalm  has  a  close 

u 


306       TROUBLE  AT  THE  THOUGHT  OF  GOD. 

so  different  from  the  troubled  opening.  It  is  with  the 
commencement,  however,  that  we  are  now  concerned,  and 
especially  with  the  difficulty  which  some  feel  in  the 
search  after  God.  This  man  felt  it.  Surrounded  by 
many  and  sore  adversities,  he  turned  to  what  men  are 
taught  to  consider  the  great  source  of  all  comfort,  the 
thought  of  God  ;  and  here  is  his  remarkable  experience — 
"  I  remembered  God,  and  was  troubled."  We  cannot  con- 
ceal from  ourselves  that  this  is  an  experience  repeated  in 
the  case  of  many.  The  thought  of  God  does  not  give 
them  that  comfort  which  they  desire,  or  which  they  feel 
it  ought  to  give.  It  may  be  very  useful  for  us  to  consider 
such  a  subject — "  Tremble  not  removed  by  the  thought  of 
God."  In  doing  so  we  shall  not  confine  ourselves  to  the 
phase  of  the  subject  in  the  heart  of  this  speaker,  but  take 
a  wider  view,  so  as  to  meet,  through  God's  help,  a  larger 
range  of  difficulty.  There  are  two  points  of  view  under 
which  we  wish  to  present  the  subject — the  strangeness  of 
such  an  experience,  and  some  of  the  reasons  that  may 
account  for  it. 

I.  The  strangeness  of  such  an  experience — that  a 
man  should  remember  God  and  yet  be  troubled. 

For  consider  that  such  an  experience  is  against  all  that 
is  made  known  to  us  of  the  nature  of  God.  We  do  not  now 
speak  of  the  nature  of  God  as  made  known  in  his  works, 
for  here  we  believe  there  might  be  room  for  very  great 
trouble  to  the  most  reflective  mind ;  the  question  of  sin 
is  so  perplexing,  and  the  voice  of  Nature  is  so  discordant. 
On  the  whole,  perhaps,  a  thoughtful  man  would  be  swayed 
to  the  view  of  God  that  gives  comfort.  The  very  reflec- 
tion— I  am  a  sinner,  and  yet  I  am  spared  by  a  God  of 
justice — may  suggest  to  us  the  idea  of  mercy  in  God,  and 
of  his  long-suffering  kindness  having  a  gracious  purpose. 


TROUBLE  AT  THE  THOUGHT  OF  GOD.  307 

And  yet  it  is  so  difficult  to  say  how  much  of  this  reason- 
ing comes  from  the  reflected  light  of  God's  Word  that  we 
cannot  tell  how  far  it  would  go  if  left  to  itself,  or  rather 
we  can  say  that  left  to  itself  it  has  done  very  little. 

We  speak  of  the  strangeness  of  the  case  where  God,  as 
we  believe,  has  spoken  and  made  his  own  nature  known. 
From  the  very  first  that  revelation  has  had  one  purpose, 
and  could  have  only  one — to  present  God  in  such  a  light 
that  his  sinful  creatures  should  come  and  find  rest  in  Him. 
For  God  to  preserve  them  in  this  world,  and  then  to 
speak  so  as  to  drive  them  away  or  keep  them  away  from 
Himself,  is  utterly  inconceivable.  And  so  from  the  very 
beginning,  and  all  through,  the  revelation  has  been  one 
of  mercy.  They  read  it  falsely  who  read  it  otherwise. 
Its  first  light  is  not  a  flash  from  a  thunder-cloud  but  a 
beam  from  the  sun — the  darkness  of  man's  sin  pierced  by 
the  ray  of  God's  promise.  If  there  are  thunderings  and 
threatenings  and  judgments  that  follow,  they  are  all  in 
mercy's  hand,  not  to  keep  back  the  sinner  but  to  keep 
back  the  sin.  As  the  revelation  proceeds,  this  view  of 
God  becomes  always  more  clear  till  it  opens  fully  in  the 
cross  of  Christ,  and  shows  us  mercy  not  prevailing  over 
justice  but  taking  it  into  friendship,  that  it  may  prevail 
over  transgression  and  make  a  way  for  the  guilty  to  the 
heart  of  God.  Here  is  its  complete  expression — "  God 
was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto  Himself,  not 
imputing  their  trespasses  unto  them.  For  He  hath  made 
Him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew  no  sin."  It  is  free, 
infinite  mercy,  not  obscuring  any  part  of  his  character, 
but  taking  it  all  into  its  keeping,  and  offering  Him  as  a 
reconciled  and  reconciling  God  to  every  child  of  the 
human  race.  If  in  the  Gospel  there  are  still  warnings  and 
threatenings  and.  terrible  views  of  the  evil  of  sin,  let  it 
be  remembered  that  the  end    for   which   it  entered  the 


308  TROUBLE  AT  THE  THOUGHT  OF  GOD. 

world  was  not  to  present  these,  but  to  present  that  which 
saves  from  them.  Many  think  the  Bible  hard  because  it 
speaks  so  of  sin  and  the  sinner's  doom.  But  let  it  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  Gospel  finds  the  disease  in  our 
world;  it  does  not  make  it.  The  only  new  thing  it 
brings  is  the  cure,  and  it  describes  the  disease  and  shows 
the  danger,  that  the  cure  may  be  made  welcome.  Its 
great  word,  like  that  of  its  Lord  and  God,  is — "  I  am 
come  not  to  destroy  men's  lives,  but  to  save  them."  This, 
becoming  ever  more  distinct,  is  the  view  given  of  the 
nature  of  God  in  his  revealed  Word, — a  view  surely 
fitted  to  dispel  fear  and  to  inspire  full  and  unalterable 
confidence.  Is  it  not,  then,  strange  that  there  should  be 
men  who,  with  this  Word  before  them,  can  remember  God 
and  be  troubled  1 

It  becomes  strange  when  we  reflect  not  only  on  the 
nature  of  God  but  on  his  promises.  We  need  to  have  these 
before  us  to  see  the  case  more  strikingly.  They  are  so 
universal,  so  free,  so  full,  that  they  seem  fitted  to  meet 
every  want  and  satisfy  every  yearning  of  the  human  soul. 
They  are  not  human  inferences  from  God's  nature,  but 
divine  assurances  direct  from  Himself,  as  if  a  monarch 
should  pluck  the  jewels  from  his  diadem  and  put  them  into 
the  hands  of  his  subjects,  who  are  also  his  friends,  making 
every  gem  a  pledge  of  some  rare  gift  even  rarer  than 
itself,  each  one  having  written  on  it,  "  Ask  and  ye  shall 
receive,  that  your  joy  may  be  full."  Has  any  one  the 
trouble  of  guilt,  then  what  can  be  desired  after  this  1 
— "  Look  unto  Me  and  be  ye  saved,  all  the  ends  of  the 
earth  ;"  "  Him  that  cometh  unto  Me  I  will  in  no  wise 
cast  out  "  "  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  God's  Son, 
cleanseth  us  from  all  sin."  Is  it  the  trouble  of  a  fallen 
and  depraved  nature  1 — "  I  will  heal  your  backslidings, 
I  will  love  you  freely."    Is  it  some  heavy  cross  that  crushes 


TROUBLE  AT  THE  THOUGHT  OF  GOD.  -  309 

to  the  very  earth  1 — "  Commit  thy  burden  to  the  Lord, 
and  He  shall  sustain  thee."  Is  it  some  great  void,  clear 
or  undefined,  some  deep  and  weary  longing  that  cannot 
articulate,  but  can  only  cry? — "My  God  shall  supply 
all  your  need  according  to  his  riches  in  glory  by  Christ 
Jesus."  What  of  the  sad  changes  and  desolations  of  time, 
when  Jesus  Christ  promises  to  be  "  the  same  yesterday, 
to-day,  and  for  ever,"  and  when  his  eternal  love  shall 
bring  all  that  we  lose  of  the  pure  and  true  back  like  the 
engulfed  waters  from  the  bitter  sea  to  be  poured  again 
into  a  fountain-head  that  shall  never  dry  !  What  of 
death  when  we  have  the  word,  "  I  am  the  Eesurrection 
and  the  Life"  !  Such  promises  offer  us  the  possession  not 
only  of  divine  gifts,  but  of  God  himself ;  "  whereby  are 
given  unto  us,"  says  the  apostle,  "  exceeding  great  and 
precious  promises  j  that  by  these  ye  might  be  partakers  of 
the  divine  nature  "  (2  Pet.  i.  4).  That  the  heart  of  a  man 
who  hears  these  words  and  believes  that  they  come  from 
the  lips  of  God  should  be  troubled  at  remembering  Him, 
must  seem  very  strange. 

It  must  appear  strange,  further,  when  we  consider  that 
trouble  at  the  thought  of  God  is  declared  to  be  against 
the  experience  of  all  sincere  seekers.  God's  own  declaration 
is,  "  I  never  said  to  any  of  the  seed  of  Jacob  " — to  any 
of  those  who  wrestled  as  he  did  in  the  dark  with  God — 
"  Seek  ye  my  face  in  vain."  There  is  a  history  of  cases 
reaching  all  through  the  Bible,  and  the  burden  of  them 
is — "  This  poor  man  cried,  and  the  Lord  heard  him,  and 
saved  him  out  of  all  his  troubles."  And  outside  the  Bible, 
in  the  history  of  the  Church,  and  near  ourselves  in  our 
own  experience,  we  have  read  of  and  seen  numberless  men 
who  in  the  most  terrible  extremity  of  loss  and  agony  and 
death,  when  nothing  else  could  comfort,  have  "looked  to 
God  and  been  lightened."     The   appeal  of  all   ages  has 


310      •  TROUBLE  AT  THE  THOUGHT  OF  GOD. 

been,  "0  Thou  that  nearest  prayer,  unto  Thee  shall  all  flesh 
come."  It  is  but  what  we  might  expect  when  we  approach 
God  with  the  wants  of  the  soul.  We  may  ask  from  Him 
any  earthly  good — outward  comfort,  health,  the  life  of 
our  dearest  friends,  and  in  order  to  our  soul's  highest 
welfare  we  may  be  denied  ;  but  if  we  seek  truly  the  soul's 
good  it  must  be  impossible  to  meet  a  refusal  from  the. 
Father  of  spirits.  We  feel  that  it  would  absolve  a  man 
in  the  great  day  of  judgment  if  he  could  say,  'I  earnestly 
sought  God's  face,  but  it  was  turned  away  from  me  ;  I 
remembered  Him  and  found  only  trouble.'  We  must 
believe  that  no  such  voice  can  ever  be  raised,  for  the 
responsibility  of  the  soul's  loss  can  never  rest  on  God ;  and 
so  much  the  more  strange  does  it  seem  that  there  should 
be  an  exception  here,  and  that  it  should  be  repeated  by 
men  who  complain  that  they  seek  God,  and  do  not  find 
Him. 

We  shall  make  this  last  remark,  as  showing  the  strange- 
ness of  it,  that  such  an  experience  is  against  all  that  we 
can  reasonably  believe  of  the  nature  of  the  soul  of  man.  If 
one  thing  be  true  about  man's  soul  it  is  this,  that  out 
of  God  no  full,  satisfying  end  can  be  found  for  it.  The 
soul  is  greater  than  the  whole  world,  and  the  greater  can- 
not be  blessed  of  the  less.  We  should  not  have  wondered 
if  a  man  had  said,  '  I  thought  of  life  and  its  fleeting  joys, 
of  time  and  its  emptiness,  of  earthly  possessions  and  fame 
and  knowledge  and  all  the  pleasant  things  of  life — how 
brief  they  are,  and  how  in  one  day  they  perish.  I  looked 
abroad  on  worldly  friendships,  and  saw  how  fickle  they 
were,  how  a  man  is  wounded  in  the  house  of  his  friends, 
how  death  lays  desolate  homes  and  hearts  \  and  the  bitter- 
ness of  death  flowed  in  upon  my  own  soul.'  But  that  a 
man  should  turn  with  his  soul  to  God,  to  God  for  whom 
that  soul  was  made,  else  it  is  objectless,  to  Him  who  can 


TROUBLE  AT  THE  THOUGHT  OF  GOD.       311 

satisfy  it  and  who  alone  can,  to  the  light  of  all  intelligence, 
the  life  and  joy  of  all  holy  spirits,  and  that  he  should  say, 
"  I  remembered  God,  and  was  troubled  " — this  must  seem 
passing  strange.  Some  account  can  surely  be  given  of  it 
that  may  help  to  clear  the  character  of  God,  and  put  us 
in  the  way  of  finding  Him,  if  we  have  been  seeking  fruit* 
lessly. 

II.  We  shall  consider,  then,  some  OF  THE  REASONS 
THAT  MAY  BE  GIVEN  FOR  SUCH  AN  EXPERIENCE  AS  THIS. 

The  first  reason  we  mention  is  that  many  men  do  not 
male  God  the  object  of  sufficient  thought.  They  think  of 
Him  now  and  then  in  a  general  way,  when  the  fact  of  his 
existence  is  forced  upon  them  by  the  discourse  of  others, 
or  when  they  are  compelled  to  confront  the  idea  of  Him 
in  some  crisis  of  life,  in  a  moment  of  conviction,  or  in  an 
hour  of  trial.  But  the  thought  flashes  across  like  lightning 
in  the  night,  as  unwelcome  and  almost  as  rapid  :  God  is 
there,  charged  with  the  possibility  or  the  probability  of 
some  dreaded  calamity  or  painful  restraint,  and  they  are 
glad  to  put  the  thought  away.  They  do  with  it  as  with 
their  dead — "  bury  it  out  of  their  sight."  Can  anything 
be  conceived  that  shows  more  clearly  the  alienation  of  the 
natural  heart  from  God  1  and  does  it  not  prove  the  Bible 
view  of  human  nature  to  be  the  true  one  1  This  is  the 
religion  or  irreligion  of  immense  numbers,  and  of  not  a  few 
who  call  themselves  Christians  ;  they  "  do  not  like  to  re- 
tain God  in  their  knowledge."  They  feel  as  if  they  could 
be  comfortable  only  when  they  banish  Him  out  of  mind, 
and  enjoy  his  world  without  being  troubled  with  Himself. 
Their  courage  or  their  consciousness  will  not  let  them  come 
to  the  dreadful  atheistic  negative,  "There  is  no  God;" 
but  they  will  not  aim  resolutely  at  the  only  other  consistent 
alternative,  'There  is  a  God,  and  I  know  Him  to  be  my 


312  TROUBLE  AT  THE  THOUGHT  OF  GOD. 

friend; '  and  so  they  hang  in  wretched  suspense,  re- 
membering God  only  to  be  troubled.  But  if  He  is 
to  be  known  He  must  be  sought,  and  sought  with  earnest 
effort.  There  is  nothing  in  his  world  worth  finding  that 
does  not  require  anxious  seeking.  Is  He  alone  unworthy 
of  it,  or  are  you  so  independent  of  Him  ?  "  Consider  this, 
ye  that  forget  God." 

Another  reason  why  many  are  troubled  at  the  thought 
of  God  is  that  they  are  seeking  Him  with  a  wrong  view  of 
the  way  of  access.  There  is  a  class  of  men  who  are  anxious 
in  the  search  after  God,  but  choose  a  mistaken  road.  I 
do  believe  with  all  my  heart  that,  if  they  are  honest 
seekers,  they  will  find  God  at  last;  but  they  may  cause 
themselves  long  pain  ;  they  may  walk  under  a  cloud  all 
their  life,  and  perhaps  only  see  the  face  of  God  clearly  in 
a  better  world.  It  is  surprising  how  many  Christians  have 
this  trouble,  in  some  form,  at  the  thought  of  God.  And 
yet  it  is  not  surprising,  for  if  we  are  to  find  we  must  not 
only  seek  the  right  end,  but  seek  in  the  right  way.  The 
most  frequent  mistake  of  all  is  that  men  think  they  cannot 
look  God  in  the  face  without  trouble,  unless  they  have 
something  of  their  own  in  their  hand,  some  portion  of 
good  works  or  good  thoughts,  some  outward  reformation 
or  inward  repentance.  They  do  not  perceive,  or  at  least 
they  do  not  feel,  the  all-sufficiency  of  Christ  as  a  Saviour, 
and  the  freeness  with  which  they  may  take  hold  of  Him 
and  all  that  He  is  and  has,  at  once  as  their  own.  They 
are  constantly  putting  the  question,  "  What  shall  we  do 
that  we  might  work  the  works  of  God  1  "  and  here  is  the 
answer,  so  old,  yet  needing  always  to  be  repeated,  "  This 
is  the  work  of  God,  that  ye  believe  on  Him  whom  He 
hath  sent"  (John  vi.  29).  There  is  something  so  great 
and  God-like,  so  utterly  unlike  the  manner  of  men,  in 
pardon  and  peace  and  eternal  life  being  offered  without  a 


TROUBLE  AT  THE  THOUGHT  OF  GOD.  313 

single  condition  on  our  part,  that  it  is  hard  to  realise  it. 
Hence  the  many  false  forms  of  Christianity  that  are  con- 
stantly springing  up,  and  that  put  outward  ceremonies  and 
works,  or  inward  purifications  and  states  of  mind,  in  the 
foreground  ere  we  can  reach  Christ.  Now,  it  is  the  whole 
effort  of  the  Eible  to  put  Christ  first  and  before  all.  The 
Father  brings  Him  forward  with  the  words,  "  This  is  my 
beloved  Son ;  hear  ye  Him."  He  steps  forth  with  the  in- 
vitation, ' "  Come  unto  Me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy 
laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  Eest  begins  and  ends  with 
Me.'  The  Holy  Spirit  has  this  great  work,  "  to  take  of 
the  things  that  are  Christ's  and  show  them  unto  us."  The 
ancient  sacrifices  and  ceremonies  point  to  Him  with  empty 
hands,  in  the  words  of  John  the  Baptist,  "  Behold  the 
Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world !  " 
Saved  men  on  earth  declare,  "  Not  by  works  of  righteous- 
ness which  we  have  done,  but  according  to  his  mercy  He 
saved  us ;  "  and  glorified  saints  in  heaven  sing,  "  Unto 
Him  that  loved  us,  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  own 
blood."  It  is  the  testimony  of  all  things  in  heaven  and 
earth  to  the  infinite  and  sole  sufficiency  of  Jesus  Christ 
as  the  Eedeemer  of  sinful  men ;  and  if  men  will  try  some 
other  way  of  paying  the  broken  law  save  with  this  gold 
of  the  covenant,  or  if  they  mingle  their  own  dross  in  any 
degree  with  it,  what  can  they  expect  but  trouble  1  Our 
own  eye  is  sometimes  quick  enough  to  see  the  miserable 
flaws  and  defects  in  all  that  is  ours,  and,  if  it  does  not, 
God  is  greater  than  our  hearts,  and  will  sIioav  us  to  our- 
selves by  some  lightning-flash  that  makes  us  cry,  "  Behold 
I  am  vile  !  " 

Strangely  enough,  we  all  say  we  believe  this,  and  yet 
trouble  remains.  It  is  because  there  is  so  wide  a  difference 
between  saying  we  believe,  or  believing  in  a  vague,  general 
way,  and  feeling  all  the  meaning  and  power  that  lie  in  a 


314  TROUBLE  AT  THE  THOUGHT  OF  GOD. 

great  truth.  Many  a  man  has  the  field  in  which  the 
treasure  lies  hid,  and  knows  it  to  be  there,  and  tra- 
verses it  often  •  but  his  eye  has  a  glimpse  of  it  only 
when  God's  sunlight  strikes  on  the  precious  ore.  If  we 
have  not  found  the  comfort  of  possession,  let  us  pray  Him 
more  earnestly  to  reveal  his  Son  in  us  ;  let  us  pause  and 
stoop  in  deep  humility  of  spirit  and  emptiness  of  self,  till 
we  can  grasp  but  one  golden  word,  and  find  a  reconciled 
God  iu  it.  "  Therefore,  being  justified  by  faith,  we  have 
peace  with  God,  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  for  God 
commendeth  his  love  toward  us,  in  that  while  we  were  yet 
sinners  Christ  died  for  us"  (Rom.  v.  1,  8).  If  there  be 
work  before  receiving  Christ,  the  only  work  is  to  feel  the 
void,  to  present  the  emptiness,  and  then  into  this  the  water 
of  life  rushes  to  supply  all  our  need ;  and  if  you  bring  this 
need,  and  bring  it  now,  you  will  find  that  trouble  flees, 
as  you  turn  from  thoughts  of  self-preparation  to  Christ's 
prepared  fulness,  and  to  God's  arms  that  are  waiting  to 
receive  you  in  Him. 

A  third  reason  why  some  are  troubled  at  the  thought 
of  God  is,  that  they  are  seeling  Him  with  some  reserved  thought 
of  sin.  There  is  a  class  of  men  who  have  a  sense  of  the 
importance  of  salvation,  and  a  certain  desire  to  obtain  it, 
but  lurking  in  the  life  there  is  some  darling  and  unholy 
object,  some  friendship  with  evil,  some  forbidden  pleasure, 
open  or  secret,  which  they  will  not  resign.  How  many  a 
Herod  would  hear  John  gladly,  were  not  Herodias  there  to 
paralyse  his  will ;  and  many  an  Agrippa  is  almost  persuaded 
to  be  a  Christian  if  he  could  come  down  to  the  bonds  of 
the  Gospel,  which  in  some  form  still  gall  men ;  and  many 
a  young  man  approaches  Christ  respectfully,  with  the  word 
"  good  Master  "  on  his  lips  and  the  great  prize  of  eternal 
life  in  his  eye,  but  the  world's  love  in  some  form  is  there 
to  draw  him  back.     They  go  away  sorrowful,  for  the  con- 


TROUBLE  AT  THE  THOUGHT  OF  GOD.       315 

science  rises  up  to  reproach  the  heart,  and  the  heart  itself 
in  silent  hours  counts  its  poor  gain,  and  feels  its  loss. 
And  whether  a  man  has  turned  his  back  on  Christ,  or  pro- 
fesses to  be  his  friend,  he  can  never  think  of  God  without 
trouble,  if  he  is  cleaving  to  conscious  sin.  True  peace  can 
never  dwell  in  the  same  heart  with  impurity. 

You  may  think  this  inconsistent  with  what  we  have 
said  of  Christ  saving  the  most  sinful  without  any  condi- 
tion ;  but  contradiction  there  is  none.  Nothing  can  be 
more  true  than  that  the  Gospel  offers  pardon  unbought  to 
every  sinner,  but  it  is  equally  true  that  it  cannot  save  a 
man  who  resolves  to  continue  in  sin  ;  because  the  Gospel  is 
more  than  pardon,  it  is  life — and  then  only  can  it  be 
peace.  It  says  with  its  author,  "  Neither  do  I  condemn 
thee;"  but  it  adds,  "  go  and  sin  no  more."  We  say,  '  Open 
your  hand  to  receive  the  free  gift  of  God,'  but  how  can  you 
receive  it  if  every  finger  closes  down  on  some  sinful  in- 
dulgence 1  And,  if  you  open  it  far  enough  to  let  the  Gospel 
enter  among  your  sins,  the  sins  must  die  or  the  Gospel 
cannot  live.  Do  you  complain  of  this  ?  Complain  that  it 
will  not  save  you  from  siu  and  let  you  live  a  sinner !  That 
Christ  will  not  quietly  hold  fellowship  in  your  heart  with 
Belial !  And  you,  you  wish  to  write  Christ's  name  over 
the  door,  and  will  have  not  only  men  but  God  read  the  in- 
scription, "  The  Lord  is  there ;  "  and  yet  you  will  keep  the 
world  and  the  devil  in  the  house  and  wonder  that  you 
should  have  trouble  !  You  sprinkle  the  lintel  with  the 
blood,  and  yet  sit  still  in  the  darkness  and  bondage  of 
Egypt,  and  complain  that  you  have  not  the  light  and  free- 
dom of  the  land  of  promise  !  I  pray  that  such  may  have 
trouble  and  trouble  evermore  till  they  find  a  peace  that 
will  stand  the  test  not  only  of  their  own  consciences  but 
of  the  eye  of  God.  A  false  God  or  a  perverted  religion 
might  compound  and  say,  "  Peace,  peace,"  where  there  can 


316       TKOUBLE  AT  THE  THOUGHT  OF  GOD. 

be  none,  but  "  there  is  no  peace,  saith  my  God,  to  the 
wicked."  If  there  were  no  trouble,  it  would  be  worse.  It 
might  be  token  that  God  had  left  you  alone ;  and  trouble 
is  there  because  He  is  still  striving  with  you  lest  you  sink 
into  the  slumber  of  delusion  that  makes  a  fatal  opiate  of 
the  very  Gospel  of  Christ.  Come  to  a  free  unconditional 
salvation,  but  remember  that  deliverance  from  sin  is  the 
very  essence  of  the  cure,  and  that  without  this  you  cannot 
enjoy  it  neither  see  it — that,  as  the  banishment  of  clouds  is 
the  work  of  the  sun  and  the  means  of  seeing  his  face,  so 
the  removal  of  sin  is  Christ's  great  work,  and  the  way  by 
which  from  a  purified  sky  He  lifts  on  you  the  light  of  his 
countenance  and  sends  you  peace ;  for,  as  every  new  ray 
from  Him  quenches  the  unholy  and  impure,  and  kindles 
the  heavenly  and  divine,  it  proclaims  at  the  same  time  a 
grace  that  is  free  and  broad  and  unbought  as  the  sunlight 
— "  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God." 
We  mention  as  a  fourth  and  last  reason,  why  some 
think  of  God  with  trouble,  that  they  have  a  mistaken  view  of 
God's  manner  of  dealing  with  us  in  this  world.  We  wish  to 
speak  here  of  a  class  more  advanced  than  any  we  have  yet 
adverted  to,  comprising  many  sincere  and  enlightened 
Christians.  They  have  thought  very  earnestly  about  God  ; 
they  have  a  clear  view  of  the  way  of  acceptance  through 
Christ;  they  are  very  desirous  to  be  delivered  from  all 
that  is  opposed  to  the  divine  will ;  and  yet  they  have  trouble 
in  thinking  about  God.  There  are  so  many  things  in  the 
world  most  dark  and  dismal  which  He  permits — so  much 
of  difficulty  in  the  Bible  which  they  feel  He  could  have 
made  more  clear — such  troubles  in  our  life,  in  what  we 
may  call  our  true  life,  our  spiritual  life,  which  we  long  to 
have  ended,  and  which  still  go  on.  What  volcanic  out- 
bursts of  human  iniquity,  what  slow  progress  of  the  only 
thing  that  can   cure  it,  how  our  way  is  hedged   in   with 


TROUBLE  AT  THE  THOUGHT  OF  GOD.       317 

thorns,  even  when  it  seems  the  way  of  duty,  how   our 
prayers,  do  as  we  will,  scarcely  rise  above  the  level  of  our 
lips  and  appear  to  bring  no  answer !     It  is  impossible  to 
enumerate  all  those  troubles,  for  every  Christian  has  his 
own,  but  the  strange  thing  regarding  them  is  that  the  re- 
membrance of  God  comes  to  add  to  them.    The  most  earn- 
est and  thoughtful  natures  often  feel  this  most.     They  are 
pained,  as  when  the  character  of  a  beloved  friend  is  con- 
cerned whom  they  dare  not  question  but  cannot  understand. 
God  has  the  power  to  end  this  sore  struggle,  to  put  down 
sin  and  doubt,  and  bring  in  the  blessed  reign  of  righteous- 
ness and  peace  for  which  our  hearts  are  sighing ;  and  why 
then  does  He  not  act  1     Why  at  least  does  He  not  speak  1 
If  He  would  only  utter  his  will  more  distinctly,  show  them 
the  end  and  tell  them  what  to  do,  how  gladly  would  they 
spring  to  their  feet  and  press  through  fire  and  water  to  fulfil 
it !    I  know  that  this  passes  through  many  hearts  when  they 
think  of  God,  and  troubles  them  by  night  and  day.    It  was 
the  perplexity  of  Asaph  when  he  wrote  this  psalm ;  it  was 
the  pang  in  Job's  heart  worse  than  the  loss  of  all  his  sub- 
stance or  the  reproaches  of  his  friends ;  it  was  the  stumbling- 
block  of  Jeremiah,  "Righteous  art  Thou,  0  Lord,  when  I 
plead  with  Thee ;  yet  let  me  talk  with  Thee  of  thy  judg- 
ments :  wherefore  doth  the  way  of  the. wicked  prosper?" 
It  was  foretold  by  Christ,  "  Because  iniquity  shall  abound, 
the  love  of  many  shall  wax  cold  ;  "  and,  still  more  wonder- 
ful, it  finds  its  echo  from  the  souls  under  the  altar,  "  How 
long,  0  Lord,  holy  and  true  %"  (Rev.  vi.  10.) 

Does  it  not  seem  very  strange  that  in  a  revelation  of  the 
will  of  God  there  should  not  only  be  no  attempts  to  solve 
these  questions,  but  that  this  revelation  should  be  so  filled 
with  the  expressions  of  them  1  When  we  consult  these  in- 
spired men,  instead  of  answering  us  they  say,  '  We  have  felt 
these  very  doubts.'     And  yet  they  do  give  us  the  answer  by 


318  TROUBLE  AT  THE  THOUGHT  OF  GOD. 

showing  us  in  what  way  they  found  peace.  It  was  not  by 
the  intellectual  solution  of  their  doubts  about  God's  pro- 
cedure, but  by  the  repose  of  the  soul  on  God  himself  and  its 
fuller  life  in  Him.  It  was  thus  that  Asaph  gained  it  and 
ended  this  psalm  in  calm  repose.  So  Job  had  his  murmurings 
quieted  :  "  I  have  heard  of  Thee  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear, 
but  now  mine  eye  seeth  Thee ;  wherefore  I  abhor  myself,  and 
repent  in  dust  and  ashes."  The  souls  beneath  the  altar  have 
white  robes  given  to  them,  and  are  bidden  "  rest  for  a  little 
season."  In  heaven  itself  repose  is  gained  not  by  seeing 
all  God's  way,  but  by  the  assurance  of  acceptance  and  life 
with  God.  This  makes  the  Bible  a  grander  and  more 
solemn  book  than  man  would  have  made  it,  not  a  text-book 
of  speculative  theories,  but  a  history  of  souls  that  have 
found  their  rest  in  God,  with  Him  in  the  centre  who 
made  it  possible  for  them  to  find  it,  and  who  himself  leads 
the  way  through  struggle  and  shadow  up  to  the  clear  face 
of  God.  This  fits  best  into  the  system  of  our  world,  which, 
disordered  by  sin,  is  a  world  of  struggle  and  trial,  the  hard 
portal  to  new  and  regenerated  life,  a  world  where  the 
great  lessons  are  not  those  of  knowledge,  but  reverence 
and  humility  and  trust  in  God. 

These  questions  of  God's  ways  are  still  for  our  study,  for 
nothing  that  belongs  to  Him  can  be  indifferent  to  us,  and 
earnest  souls  will  thirst  for  light  on  all  that  concerns  Him. 
But  we  shall  not  wait  for  the  answer  before  we  embrace 
Him  ;  we  embrace  Him  first  that  we  may  find  rest,  and 
from  that  centre  pursue  our  search,  or  calmly  wait  till  God 
disclose  it.  The  Gospel  proposes  God  in  Christ  to  the 
soul  that  feels  its  sin  and  want  and  misery,  and  invites  it 
to  make  full  trial  of  Him  in  every  emergency  of  life  and 
death.  It  assures  us  that  we  shall  find  Him  able  to  keep 
that  which  we  commit  to  his  trust.  Myriads  have  found 
it  so,  and  left  their  seal  to  his  truth;  and  you  that  have 


TROUBLE  AT  THE  THOUGHT  OF  GOD.  319 

tried  it  know  that  in  proportion  as  yon  have  trusted  you 
have  found  Him  faithful.      It  is  in  the  experience  of  this 
divine  life  that  doubts  melt  away  or  can  be  held  in  quiet 
expectancy  of  a  solution,  and  that  we  approach  gradually 
to  the  calm  of  those  that  rest  beneath  the  altar.     He  who 
has  learned  to  trust  his  soul  with  God,  and  felt  it  safe  in 
his  hand,  can  trust  Him  with  all  else.     I  would  not  forget 
that  this,  too,  demands  often  a  sore  struggle  both  in  the  be- 
ginning of  our  spiritual  life  and  in  many  of  its  onward 
stages.      The  darkness  that  gathers  on  the   face  of  the 
world  rolls  in  at  times  upon  the  individual  soul,  and  all  is 
wrapt  in  gloom.     Then   comes  the  time  for  that  grand 
utterance  of  the  prophet  that  has  held  up  many  a  sinking 
heart,  "  Who  is  among  you  that  feareth  the  Lord,  that 
obeyeth  the  voice  of  his  servant,  that  walketh  in  darkness, 
and  hath  no  light  1  let  him  trust  in  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
and  stay  upon  his  God"  (Isa.  L.  10).     The  soul  is  capable 
of  this  sublime  act  of  faith —this  faith  that  comes  not  of 
despair  but  from  the  deepest  instinct  of  the  spirit  of  man 
inspired  and  guided  by  the  Spirit  of  God— capable  of  trust- 
ing God  where  all  in  God  himself  seems  dark.     Have  you 
felt  it  1  are  you  feeling  it  1  be  sure  that  never  was  such 
trust  betrayed.     As  sure  as  the  gloom  of  the  cross  yielded 
to  the  light    of  resurrection,  as    day  succeeds   night,   as 
the  ordinances  of  heaven  fail  not,  so  sure  will  God  have 
his  present  strength  for  you,  and  his  coming  song.     The 
thought  of  God  that  for  a  while  brings  trouble  shall  be 
made  the  source  of  hope,  the  pledge  that  all  with  you  and 
with  his  universe  shall  be  ordered  to  a  happy  end,  and 
even  here  amid  the  trouble  and  struggle  of  earth   He  can 
put  into  the  mouth  some  notes  of  the  praise  of  heaven : 
"  I  will  sing  unto  the  Lord  as  long  as  I  live  :  I  will  sing- 
praise  to  my  God  while  I  have  my  being.     My  meditation 
of  Him  shall  be  sweet.     I  will  be  glad  in  the  Lord." 


XXII. 

THINGS   PASSING   AND   THINGS   PERMANENT. 

"And  this  word,  Yet  once  more,  signifieth  the  removing 
of  those  things  that  are  shahen,  as  of  things  that  are  made, 
that  those  things  which  cannot  be  shaken  may  remain." — 
Heb.  xii.  27. 

The  voice  which  in  times  past  shook  the  earth  was  the 
voice  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  one  may  see  by  comparing  verses 
24-26  immediately  preceding.  This  proves  the  transcen- 
dent dignity  of  Christ,  which  it  is  an  object  of  this  epistle 
to  show.  The  time  when  his  voice  shook  the  earth  was  at 
the  giving  of  the  law  from  Mount  Sinai.  The  mountain 
trembled,  and  Moses  said,  "  I  exceedingly  fear  and  quake.'5 
But  the  same  great  Lord  has  said,  "  Yet  once  more,  and  I 
shake  not  the  earth  only,  but  also  heaven."  This  He  said 
in  the  prophet  Haggai  (ii.  6),  "  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  of 
Hosts ;  Yet  once,  it  is  a  little  while,  and  I  will  shake  the 
heavens,  and  the  earth,  and  the  sea,  and  the  dry  land  ; 
and  I  will  shake  all  nations,  and  the  desire  of  all  nations 
shall  come."  The  giving  of  the  law  shook  the  earth,  the 
giving  of  the  Gospel  is  to  shake  earth  and  heaven.  The 
concussion  begins  when  Christ  comes;  it  is  going  on  now; 
and  it  will  continue  till  the  world  receives  its  last  shock, 
and  falls  asunder. 

This  is  not  a  very  common  view  of  the  Gospel  history, 
but  it  has  its  side  of  truth.  The  Gospel  cannot  build  up 
and  make  strong  without  shaking  down.  In  the  midst  of 
the  broken  and  perishing  things  of  this  world  there  are 
others  that  are  immoveable  and  eternal,  and  the  object  of 

320 


THINGS  PASSING  AND  THINGS  PERMANENT.  321 

this  process  is  to  prove  that  they  can  stand  the  test.  The 
things  that  are  shaken  are  "  things  that  are  made."  They 
are  created  things,  and  therefore  they  can  be  and  must  be 
changed.  But  the  things  that  are  not  made  cannot  be 
shaken.  They  are  things  that  belong  to  God's  own  nature, 
his  truth  and  righteousness  and  love,  which  are  unassail- 
able and  eternal,  and  give  eternal  power  and  life  wherever 
they  enter  and  become  part  of  a  creature.  It  is  a  very 
great  thing  for  us  to  feel  assured  of  this  in  the  midst  of 
the  perpetual  breaking  down  of  everything  around  us. 
Well  for  us  to  know  that  outside  in  the  world,  and  within 
our  own  souls,  there  are  stable  realities,  and  to  see  them, 
and  to  have  them  rising  up  and  becoming  stronger  under 
the  shock  of  every  earthquake. 

We  shall,  first,  illustrate  this  law  of  things,  and,  secondly, 
show  some  of  the  benefits  that  result  from  it. 

I.  In  illustrating  the  law,  we  may  begin  with  the  more 
general  and  come  to  the  personal. 

The  Jewish  dispensation  was  shaken,  but  the  great  realities 
enclosed  in  it  remain.  The  coming  of  Christ  in  the  flesh 
was  the  signal  for  the  overthrow  of  that  venerable  and 
magnificent  system.  When  He  uttered  the  word  "  It  is 
finished,"  the  earth  shook  as  did  Sinai,  and  the  rocks 
opened,  and  the  veil  of  the  temple  was  rent  in  twain.  For 
a  little  while  the  effect  was  not  visible,  but  soon  the  Eoman 
armies  came,  the  temple  was  burned  with  fire,  the  daily 
sacrifice  taken  away,  the  priesthood  abolished,  the  most 
expressive  and  beautiful  ritual  that  ever  existed,  the  only 
true  ritual  that  ever  did  exist,  was  annulled,  and  the 
Jewish  people  ceased  to  be  the  Church  of  the  living  God. 
That  shaking  broke  to  pieces  a  divinely-instituted  system 
and  the  wreck  of  it  can  be  seen  in  a  nation  still  scattered 
over  the  face  of  the  whole  world. 

x 


322  THINGS  PASSING  AND  THINGS  PERMANENT. 

But  there  were  things  intended  to  remain.  The  daily 
sacrifice  was  taken  away,  but  the  great  sacrifice  of  Christ 
abides  to  the  world's  close.  There  is  no  longer  an 
earthly  high-priest,  but  the  Lord  Jesus  is  entered  in 
within  the  veil  to  appear  in  the  presence  of  God  for 
us.  The  temple  is  destroyed,  but  its  floor  widens  out 
into  the  universal  world,  so  that  wherever  a  praying  knee 
bends  to  God,  or  a  true  heart  seeks  Him,  He  is  to  be 
found.  The  Jewish  nation  has  ceased  to  be  the  peculiar 
people  of  God,  but  there  is  a  spiritual  Israel,  all  of  them 
priests  to  offer  sacrifices  continually,  in  lives  holy  and 
acceptable  through  Jesus  Christ.  The  Jews  of  that  age 
thought  that  all  of  the  divine  and  true  was  perishing, 
but  when  the  crash  has  passed  and  the  dust  of  the  collision 
cleared  away  we  can  see  the  real  temple  of  God,  rising  as 
it  ever  must  do  calmly  and  majestically  from  the  ruins  of 
the  old.  The  New  Testament  Church  emerges  like  a  spirit 
clothed  in  a  new  and  ethereal  body  fitted  for  a  greater  time. 

The  forms  of  human  society  are  shaken,  but  the  principles 
that  regulate  it  remain.  This  was  true  before  the  coming  of 
Christ,  and  it  seems  as  if  the  commotion  in  the  world  had 
been  increased  by  his  appearance.  Christianity  intensi- 
fies social  struggles  by  pouring  new  light  upon  human 
rights  and  duties.  The  oppressed  learn  what  belongs  to 
them,  and  the  oppressor  does  not  yield  without  a  conflict. 
This  is  the  meaning  of  Christ's  own  word,  "  I  am  not 
come  to  send  peace,  but  a  sword."  Since  He  came,  the 
great  Eoman  empire  has  been  shattered  to  fragments. 
The  kingdoms  of  modern  Europe  that  rose  out  of  it  have 
changed  their  dynasties  and  limits  and  institutions  count- 
less times.  Again  and  again  the  part  of  the  world  called 
Christian  has  altered  its  face,  as  if  a  deluge  had  swept  it. 
The  terrible  wars  that  accompanied  the  Keformation,  and 
the  tremendous  struggles  of  the  French  Revolution,  are 


THINGS  PASSING  AND  THINGS  PERMANENT.  323 

illustrations.  Some  look  on  these  things  with  unmitigated 
dislike,  and  others  with  unalloyed  terror.  They  tremble 
at  the  thought  of  ancient  systems  falling,  lest  universal 
anarchy  should  be  at  the  door. 

But  there  are  great  principles  of  right  and  freedom  that 
assert  themselves  amid  all  changes.  When  God  ordained 
that  man  should  live  in  society,  He  placed  these  principles 
in  his  nature,  and,  though  they  may  be  buried  for  a  while, 
they  inevitably  work  themselves  clear  of  the  confusion,  and 
rise  up  into  a  better  shape,  fitted  for  higher  progress.  They 
have  two  indispensable  elements,  law  on  the  one  side,  and 
liberty  on  the  other,  and  there  is  a  constant  struggle  to 
bring  these  two  into  greater  harmony,  but  neither  of  them 
can  finally  perish.  Let  us  .have  confidence  in  the  fact  that 
God  has  made  man  for  society ;  let  us  have  faith  in  the 
experience  of  all  past  history ;  above  all,  let  us  have  trust 
in  the  word  of  Christ,  that  the  things  which  cannot  be 
shaken  shall  remain.  Every  chaos  has  its  harmonising 
voice,  "  Let  there  be  light ;  "  every  flood  its  ark  and  its 
rainbow.  Amid  the  tumults  of  nations  and  the  guessing 
plans  of  politicians,  a  Christian  man  need  never  lose  hope, 
for  he  has  his  foot  on  a  kingdom  that  cannot  be  moved ; 
and  the  communities  of  this  world  are  being  shaken  and 
broken  that  they  may  be  built  up  again,  with  more  in  them 
of  that  kingdom  which  is  truth  and  righteousness,  and 
which  at  last  shall  be  peace. 

Outward  systems  of  religion  are  shaken,  but  the  great  truths 
of  the  Church  of  Christ  remain.  By  outward  systems  of 
religion  we  mean  the  organisations  that  men  form,  with  a 
particular  human  name  and  locality  and  administration ; 
by  the  Church  of  Christ  we  mean  the  spiritual  children  of 
God,  called  together  by  his  grace  out  of  every  country, 
and  built  on  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  prophets, 
Jesus  Christ  being  the  chief  corner-stone.      We  do  not 


324  THINGS  PASSING  AND  THINGS  PERMANENT. 

mean  to  undervalue  outward  church  organisations.  It  is  a 
very  narrow  way  of  thinking,  under  the  guise  of  being 
broad,  that  would  do  so.  God  has  made  Christians  for 
them  as  He  has  made  man  for  society ;  He  has  put  the 
principles  that  lead  to  outward  association  into  the  believ- 
ing heart ;  He  has  laid  down  the  great  lineaments  of  such 
organisations  in  his  word ;  and  He  has  made  it  our  duty  to 
bring  them  as  far  as  possible  into  conformity  with  the 
laws  He  has  laid  down.  But  the  Christian  nature  is  still 
more  narrow  that  would  shut  itself  up  in  any  one  of  these, 
unable  to  look  abroad  on  the  large  brotherhood  outside, 
and  to  feel  that  there  is  a  great,  deep  foundation  that 
reaches  beyond  the  base  of  our  walls.  These  churches 
of  men  have  been  shaken,  and  must  be  again.  Where 
is  the  church  of  Jerusalem  founded  by  apostles,  the  church 
of  Antioch  where  the  name  of  Christian  rose,  the  seven 
churches  of  Asia  watched  by  the  last  and  most  loving 
of  the  disciples  1  The  church  of  Rome,  once  so  pure, 
planted  by  apostolic  zeal,  watered  by  the  blood  of  martyrs, 
has  been  degraded  by  superstition,  until  she  has  rejected 
what  apostles  held  most  precious,  and  inflicted  more 
martyrdoms  than  she  endured.  The  churches  of  the 
Reformation  have  many  of  them  denied  that  living  word 
which  was  their  sword  of  victory,  and  renounced  or  for- 
gotten the  justifying  grace  of  Christ,  which  was  the  bread 
of  life  to  famishing  generations.  What  conflicts  and 
changes  there  are  in  the  churches  of  our  own  day !  Some- 
times a  relapse  to  antiquated  rudiments  and  outworn, 
empty  forms,  sometimes  a  downward  rush  to  the  most 
barren  rationalism  and  denial  of  a  present  God  and  an 
ever-living  Christ !  There  are  some  who,  when  they  see 
such  monstrous  shapes  coming  from  the  churches  that  call 
themselves  Christian,  fall  into  utter  scepticism,  put  the 
question    which   Pilate   put   in   the  presence  of  Christ, 


THINGS  PASSING  AND  THINGS  PERMANENT.  325 

"  What  is  truth  ?  "  and  turn  away  without  waiting  for  the 
answer  from  Him.  Others  of  timid  nature  fear  that 
religion  is  about  to  vanish  from  the  face  of  the  world,  and 
that  we  shall  be  left  on  a  sea  of  doubt  without  a  haven  to 
seek,  or  a  star  to  steer  by. 

But  amid  all  these  commotions  of  opinion  there  are 
things  which  God  has  settled,  and  which  cannot  be 
shaken.  There  are,  first  of  all,  the  principles  which  He 
has  implanted  deep  in  human  nature,  the  need  of  God 
himself,  the  yearning  for  something  that  goes  beyond 
time  and  above  earth,  the  cry  of  conscience  when  it 
feels  the  pang  of  guilt,  of  the  heart  when  it  sees  at 
times  the  perfect  and  ideal  and  longs  for  it,  and  when  it 
knows  that  both  the  vision  and  the  aspiration  are  divine, 
the  soul's  affections  in  bitter  bereavement  that  cannot 
stay  in  the  sepulchres  of  their  dead  without  despair,  and 
that  hope  of  immortality  which  has  risen  above  the  wreck 
of  all  passing  faiths  to  put  on  new  and  higher  shapes. 
Those  are,  in  some  form,  as  wide  and  constant  as  human 
nature,  and  they  have  this  peculiarity,  that  as  the  lower 
wants  are  satisfied  they  rise  more  distinctly  into  view. 
They  may  seem  to  be  buried  for  a  while,  but  it  is  always 
to  re-appear.  No  system  of  infidelity  can  ever  reason 
them  away,  much  less  can  it  meet  their  requirements;  and 
these  wants,  which  cannot  be  dealt  with  save  by  acknow- 
ledgment, lie  at  the  root  of  all  religion.  They  are 
furrowed  in  the  soil  of  human  nature  by  God's  hand  for 
his  own  seed — foundation-trenches  that  are  deepened  by 
every  earthquake,  and  refuse  to  be  filled  save  by  a  divine 
structure.  And  then,  with  these  wants,  there  are  the  truths 
of  the  word  of  God  which  meet  them — God  stepping 
forward  in  his  Son  our  Saviour  to  pardon,  to  heal,  to  help 
and  to  hold  up  to  view  an  immortal  inheritance — God  the 
Father  for  us.  God  the  Son  with  us,  God  the  Spirit  in  us — 


326  THINGS  PASSING  AND  THINGS  PERMANENT. 

one  God  over  all,  our  God,  blessed  for  ever.  The  great 
wants  of  man's  soul  cannot  be  changed  any  more  than  the 
necessities  of  his  physical  nature,  and  the  great  truths  of 
the  Bible  that  satisfy  them  can  no  more  be  shaken  than 
the  ordinances  of  heaven  that  furnish  man  with  bread  and 
light  and  life.  Churches  may  rise  and  fall,  and  human 
creeds  may  seem  to  lose  their  hold  of  men's  convictions 
and  change  their  shape  and  drop  away  like  worn-out 
garments,  but  the  eternal  verities  of  God  abide,  the 
seamless  robe  of  Christ  cannot  be  torn  by  any  enemies, 
and  the  true  spiritual  Church  united  to  its  Head  remains 
one,  secure  and  unassailable.  It  is  a  blessed  thing  to  have 
the  conviction  of  this  in  the  midst  of  religious  convulsions, 
to  feel  that  these  cannot  touch  our  faith  and  hope ;  and 
they  are  the  best  Christians  who,  while  they  seek  the  good 
of  their  own  particular  church,  constantly  expect  the  end 
of  conflicts  in  a  larger  brotherhood  and  in  the  One  Name 
which  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  shall  name. 

The  temporal  circumstances  of  men  are  shaken,  but  the  great 
possessions  of  the  soul  remain.  There  are  few  who  pass 
through  life  without  experiencing  many  changes  in  it. 
The  calamities  that  overwhelmed  the  early  years  of  Joseph 
and  Job  and  David  are  not  exceptional,  and  the  calm 
sunset  that  shone  on  them  is  not  always  granted.  Per- 
haps there  never  was  a  time  when  there  were  greater 
struggle  and  anxiety  about  the  surroundings  of  life,  and 
more  rapid  falls  from  affluence  to  privation.  When  the 
nations  of  men  are  shaken,  every  home  and  every  heart 
now  vibrates.  What  changes,  too,  in  the  relationships  of 
life  !  Those  who  were  encircled  with  families  like  a  flock 
have  to  walk  almost  alone  to  the  grave.  Death  is  shaking 
our  friendships  as  the  autumn  winds  do  the  trees,  and  leaves 
fall  thicker  at  every  gust.  Increasingly  we  feel  that  our 
affections  can  have  no  fixed  home  under  any  roof  below 


THINGS  PASSING  AND  THINGS  PERMANENT.  327 

the  skies.  All  our  possessions  are  in  things  of  earth,  and 
we  hold  them  by  a  clay-tenure.  Disease  and  pining  sick- 
ness fall  upon  men  till  at  their  best  estate  they  are  seen  to 
be  vanity.  In  any  case,  age  comes  sure  and  not  slow,  till 
the  keepers  of  the  house  tremble  and  the  strong  men  bow 
themselves  and  the  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle  is 
shaken  to  dissolution.  Perhaps  the  saddest  change  of  all 
is  that  which  takes  place  in  our  feelings.  How  different 
the  dreams  of  the  opening  of  life  from  the  realisations  of 
its  close !  What  broken  hopes,  what  frustrated  aims, 
what  a  poor  handful  of  ears  for  the  rich  sheaves  we  saw 
before  us !  So  God  shakes  our  lives  till  all  seems  gone, 
things  of  possession  and  things  of  promise. 

And  yet,  the  while,  the  soul  may  have  within  its  grasp 
things  that  cannot  be  touched,  that  youthful  expectations 
once  thought  little  of,  but  that  now  grow  into  bright  and 
great  realities.  It  may  have  faith  rising  to  God  and  laying 
hold  of  the  treasure  that  nothing  can  endanger  or  diminish. 
It  may  have  hope  going  clown  like  an  anchor  and  keeping 
the  heart  stable  in  every  storm.  It  may  have  love  within 
and  around,  dwelling  on  the  things  of  God  and  giving,  in 
communion  with  Him,  a  peace  in  trouble  that  is  above  all 
earthly  good.  If  these  have  become  part  of  the  soul  they 
may  be  clouded,  but  they  are  never  lost.  When  we  lose 
hold  of  them  Christ  holds  them  fast  for  us,  and  brings  them 
out  like  stars  over  drifting  sky -rack,  and  brightens  them 
as  night  deepens.  We  have  seen  the  aged  Christian,  from 
whose  memory  the  very  names  and  faces  of  his  children 
were  blotted  out,  looking  with  an  undimmed  eye  on  the 
face  of  Christ,  weak  and  wandering  in  all  things  else,  but 
clear  and  consistent  on  eternal  truths,  and  dwelling  on 
them  with  the  freshness  of  youthful  affection.  There  is 
surely  something  sublime  in  a  man  standing  with  his  feet 
firm  on  the  unseen  rock  of  eternity,  when  the  waves  are 


328  THINGS  PASSING  AND  THINGS  PERMANENT. 

reaching  unto  his  soul — whole  and  unbroken  in  his  noblest 
nature  and  in  the  shipwreck  of  all  the  powers  that  bind  him 
to  time.  If  men  would  think,  it  is  proof  of  the  divinity 
of  the  Gospel,  and  of  the  almighty  hand  of  God  that  can 
put  something  into  the  heart  which  cannot  be  shaken, 
when  all  things  else  give  way. 

The  material  frame  of  man  is  shaken,  but  the  immortal  spirit 
remains. — We  have  adverted  to  the  commencement  of  this 
in  disease  and  old  age,  and  it  certainly  goes  on  till  the 
earthly  house  is  dissolved.  Our  life  is  removed  from  us 
like  "  a  shepherd's  tent,"  where  pole  after  pole  is  taken 
down  and  you  cannot  tell  where  it  stood.  The  tenant  is 
gone  and  the  tenement,  and  the  place  that  knew  them 
knows  them  no  more. 

But  there  is,  notwithstanding,  something  indestructible 

in  man,  and  few  have  sunk  so  deep  in  materialism  as  to 

have  lost  all  feeling  of  it,  even  in  a  natural  way.     Where 

the  divine  life  enters,  it  brings  with  it  not  only  the  promise 

but  the  pledge  and  foretaste  of  the  immortal  life.   The  light 

of  faith  already  spoken  of,  shining  when  all  else  that  looks 

out   at  the  windows  is  darkened,  is  one  of  its  foretokens. 

Augustine  said  of  his  mother,  Monica,  that  the  crevices  of 

the  falling  tabernacle  only  let  the  celestial  light  shine  in 

more  clearly. 

"  The  soul's  dark  cottage  shattered  and  decayed 
Lets  in  new  light  through  chinks  that  time  has  made." 

And  when  death  gives  the  last  shock  to  the  frame  the 
work  is  completed.  The  soul  is  that  light  in  Gideon's 
pitcher  which  shines  out  most  clearly  when  the  earthen 
vessel  that  held  it  is  broken.  The  soul,  we  have  every 
reason  to  believe,  retains  in  the  separate  state  its  inherent 
powers  of  thought  and  feeling,  and  in  due  time  it  will 
draw  up  the  body  to  a  blessed  assimilation  with  it,  and 
make  it  a  fitter  organ  for  doing  God's  work.     When  we 


THINGS  PASSING  AND  THINGS  PERMANENT.  329 

see  around  us  with  pain,  or  feel  with  shrinking,  the  signs 
of  this  decay  that  is  to  end  in  dissolution,  we  should  strive 
to  fix  our  thoughts  on  the  other  and  permanent  side. 
Though  the  outward  man  perishes,  the  inward  man  may 
be  renewed  day  by  day.  There  may  be  a  growing  life 
within,  corresponding  to  the  growing  death  without,  and 
the  one  may  be  conditioned  and,  through  the  grace  of 
Christ,  carried  on  through  the  other.  The  law  of  decay 
may  be  promoting  the  law  of  life ;  and  death,  which  is  the 
completion  of  the  first,  is  the  full  assertion  of  the  second, 
— the  entrance  of  divine  life  into  its  true  and  proper 
sphere.  It  cannot  be  otherwise.  If  in  every  change  in 
God's  world  we  perceive  a  permanent  residuum,  a  soul  of 
things  left,  that  goes  on  to  live  in  a  higher  way,  what  are 
we  to  say  of  this  spiritual  and  divine  life  that  has  in  it 
more  than  all  these  other  things,  for  it  has  in  its  personality 
the  conscious  love  and  likeness  of  God  1  This  surely,  that 
while  they  continue  in  their  manner  and  sphere  it  must 
also  have  its  own  in  which  it  survives, — a  life  of  conscious 
love  and  likeness  to  the  Father  of  spirits. 

Last  of  all,  we  observe,  as  an  illustration  of  this  law, 
that  the  whole  system  of  nature  is  shaken,  but  the  new  creation 
remains.  The  time  is  coming  when,  as  there  is  an  hour  of 
death  to  each  individual,  there  shall  be  also  to  the  frame- 
work of  this  part  of  God's  universe.  Its  own  construction 
testifies  to  this.  We  can  see  that  it  had  a  beginning,  that 
it  has  a  development,  and  this  points  to  a  close,  as  the 
growth  and  ripening  of  the  fruit  indicate  its  fall. 

They  are  as  much  opposed  to  reason  as  to  Scripture  who 
say,  "  Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming  1 "  They  may 
see  it  written,  not  only  in  the  living  pages  of  God's  Book, 
but  in  the  dead  tablets  of  stone  beneath  our  feet,  and  in 
the  fiery  scroll  of  suns  and  planets.  The  chronometer  of 
the  world  is  not  made  to  go  on  for  ever.     It  is  wound  up 


330         THINGS  PASSING  AND  THINGS  PERMANENT. 

for  its  time  and  proclaims  its  own  hour  of  doom.  The 
voice  that  shook  Sinai,  that  rent  the  rocks  on  Calvary, 
that  is  swaying  by  its  powerful  breath  all  the  movements 
of  our  earth,  shall  be  heard  over  land  and  sea,  and  all 
nature  shall  shake  at  its  word. 

But  that  last  great  earthquake  is  not,  any  more  than 
those  that  went  before  it,  to  end  in  destruction.  We, 
according  to  his  promise,  look  for  "  a  new  heavens  and 
a  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness."  The  fire 
is  a  destroying  fire  to  the  evil,  but  also  a  purifying  and 
transmuting  fire,  as  when  the  mixed  ore  is  cast  into  the 
furnace,  and  comes  out  at  last  a  vessel  of  noble  fashion 
and  brilliancy,  fit  for  the  Master's  use.  That  which 
we  can  trace  in  all  past  eras,  rising  still  to  a  better  and 
a  brighter,  must  reach  its  brightest  and  its  best  if 
there  be  truth  in  earth  or  heaven.  The  passing  things 
in  the  universe  must  lead  to  something  permanent, 
for  time  no  more  than  space  can  have  a  sea  without  a 
shore.  That  new  material  creation  shall  be  suited  to  the 
nature  of  man's  glorified,  material  frame,  as  that  frame  is 
suited  to  his  perfected  spirit.  It  must  be  free  from  all 
the  elements  of  disorder  and  decay  that  press  upon  us  here 
— a  soil  that  never  opens  for  a  grave,  a  sky  that  never 
darkens  with  a  cloud ;  to  describe  which  God's  word  fails, 
because  it  can  only  use  figures  drawn  from  things  that  are 
passing,  and  speak  to  finite  minds  enclosed  within  these 
limits.  I  do  not  know  if  there  is  anything  that  can  give 
us  a  higher  idea  of  that  great  end  than  this,  that  it  is  the 
end — the  close  to  which  all  the  events  and  processes  around 
us  are  conducting — the  one  permanent,  imperishable  result 
of  the  history  of  the  universe.  Everything  that  our  eyes 
look  upon,  however  grand  or  glorious,  is  a  "thing  tem- 
poral," a  passing  thing,  only  a  covering  for  the  invisible  and 
the  eternal,  and  its  movement,  its  shaking,  its  decay  is  but 


THINGS  PASSING  AND  THINGS  PERMANENT.  331 

the  heaving  of  the  unseen  and  enduring  world  beneath  and 
behind  it,  that  is  struggling  to  come  into  fitter  form  and 
fuller  life.  It  is  the  eternal  God  conducting  his  world  on 
through  these  changes  to  an  eternal  issue — for  "  I  know," 
the  wise  man  says,  "  that  whatsoever  God  doeth,  it  shall 
be  for  ever."  He,  as  befits  Him,  can  work  only  for  the 
permanent,  and  when  it  is  gained  it  shall  be  worthy  of 
his  nature,  and  of  all  this  long  and  terrible  history  that 
fills  our  minds  with  such  awe,  and  our  hearts  with  such 
pain.  When  the  curtain  is  gone,  and  the  enduring  result 
appears,  He,  with  his  everlasting  work,  may  be  addressed 
as  in  that  noble  hymn  of  the  ancient  church  :  "  They  shall 
perish,  but  Thou  shalt  endure ;  yea,  all  of  them  shall  wax 
old  like  a  garment ;  as  a  vesture  shalt  Thou  change  them, 
and  they  shall  be  changed :  but  Thou  art  the  same,  and 
thy  years  shall  have  no  end.  The  children  of  thy  servants 
shall  continue,  and  their  seed  shall  be  established  before 
Thee." 

II.  We  now  come  to  indicate,  for  we  can  do  little  more, 
some  of  the  benefits  that  result  from  this  law.  Could  not 
God,  it  may  be  asked,  have  made  a  permanent  world  at 
first,  without  requiring  us  to  pass  through  this  process  of 
change  deepening  so  often  to  ruin  1  After  all,  this  may 
be  asking  why  God  has  seen  fit  to  make  this  world  under 
the  condition  of  time,  for,  wherever  time  enters,  change,  as 
far  as  we  can  see,  must  accompany  it.  It  may  be  that 
finite  minds  can  learn,  or  at  least  begin  their  learning,  only 
under  some  such  forms  of  change  as  we  see  around  us — 
processes  of  birth  and  growth  and  death  and  revival, 
taking  place  under  our  eyes,  arresting  our  attention,  and 
stimulating  our  study.  It  is  a  book  where  God  is  turning 
the  pages  to  every  generation,  and  giving  it  something 
new,  an  advancing  development  that  bids  men  look  back 


332         THINGS  PASSING  AND  THINGS  PERMANENT. 

and  forward.  The  world  as  we  here  see  it  is  a  becoming 
— a  process  where  constant  change  is  imprinted  on  all. 
There  is  a  school  of  philosophy,  from  the  earliest  period  down 
to  our  time,  which  has  affirmed  that  this  is  all — that  it  is 
a  becoming  without  a  being,  a  course  without  an  end,  a 
covering  curtain  with  nothing  behind.  Now  the  Maker  of 
the  world  has  all  the  while,  to  those  who  will  seek  it,  given 
access  to  the  unchanging  in  the  midst  of  change.  In  the 
spiritual  nature  of  man  there  is  the  possibility  of  this,  and 
the  apostle  has  told  us  that  God  has  never  left  Himself 
without  a  witness  to  it  in  things  around.  Wherever  a 
soul  can  come  into  contact  with  God  there  is  the  touch  of 
the  permanent,  and  as  truth  and  purity  and  goodness  are 
loved  there  is  the  assurance  of  it.  A  man  may  look  on 
the  changing  surface  of  things  and  deny  the  eternal,  as  a 
man  at  sea  may  deny  the  existence  of  land ;  but  it  is  all 
beneath  and  around  him,  and  it  is  only  on  the  fixed  that 
the  passing  things  can  lie.  Let  us  cast  out  our  fathoming 
line  into  the  depths  of  the  soul,  and  we  shall  find  it  there, 
and  feel  that  it  passes  away  beneath  us  on  to  the  great 
shore  of  the  eternal  world  and  of  God.  It  has  seemed  fit 
to  God's  wisdom  to  put  us  through  such  a  course  of  learn- 
ing, where  change  should  be  so  prominent,  and  yet  the 
permanent  never  far  off  to  those  who  will  feel  after  it  till 
they  find  it ;  and  ^if  we  could  understand  all  things  we 
might  see  that  the  proportion  in  which  the  two  are  mingled 
is  best  suited  to  our  present  condition. 

We  come,  however,  to  something  more  practical  when 
we  remark  that  this  is  a  world  into  which  moral  disorder 
has  entered,  and  that  the  painful  changes  that  touch  us 
are  the  consequence  of  it— the  consequence  of  it,  and  yet 
an  aid  to  the  cure  of  it.  Without  sin  there  might  still 
have  been  mutation,  but  it  would  have  wanted  the  sting 
and  the  shadow.     We  have  lost  through  our  fall  the  true 


THTNGS  PASSING  AND  THINGS  PERMANENT.  333 

perception  of  spiritual  and  eternal  realities,  and  we  must 
be  made  to  see  them  through  painful  contrasts.  The 
pleasures,  the  affections,  the  hopes  of  earth  perish,  that  the 
relations  of  the  soul  to  God,  its  faith,  its  hope,  its  love 
may  stand  up  stronger  and  clearer.  The  furnace  is  heated 
often  seven-fold,  that  these  three,  like  the  holy  children, 
may  walk  through  it  with  One  like  unto  the  Son  of  Man, 
and  when  they  come  forth  without  the  smell  of  fire  on 
them  we  shall  learn  the  power  of  their  God,  and  trust 
Him  in  all  the  soul's  future  life. 

It  is  by  this  process,  too,  that  we  not  only  see  the  great- 
ness of  these  permanent  things,  but  learn  to  cleave  to  them 
as  our  portion.  This  at  least  is  the  purpose,  and  if  God's 
Spirit  stirs  the  heart  when  his  providence  shakes  the  out- 
ward life  this  will  be  the  result.  When  we  see  this 
world's  wealth  shaking,  it  is  that  we  may  seek  the  endur- 
ing riches  ;  this  world's  friendships, — the  Friend  closer  than 
a  brother  j  this  world's  health, — the  welfare  of  our  souls ; 
this  world's  solid  frame, — the  city  which  hath  foundations. 
All  things  are  made  to  tremble  in  the  hand  of  man,  that 
he  may  hear  them  saying,  "  Arise,  this  is  not  your  rest !  " 
— that  divine  and  imperishable  things  may  be  felt  to  be 
indispensable,  and  through  all  eternity  more  dear;  that 
the  soul  may  strengthen  its  grasp  of  them,  and  plant  its 
foot  with  firmer  confidence  on  the  Eock :  "  My  foot 
standeth  in  an  even  place." 

Still  further,  things  that  are  shaken  preserve  those 
things  that  are  to  remain,  until  their  suitable  time  of  mani- 
festation. They  are  wrapped  round  them,  and  fall  away 
when  men  are  ready  for  their  reception.  The  ancient 
church  could  not  have  comprehended  the  spiritual  truths 
of  the  Gospel,  and  these  were  enfolded  in  a  system  that 
spoke  to  their  senses.  God  gives  us  earthly  comforts  and 
hopes,  till  He  gives  something  better  in  their  stead.     A 


334  THINGS  PASSING  AND  THINGS  PERMANENT. 

young  Christian  could  not  be  reconciled  to  many  things 
which  the  more  advanced  cheerfully  accept.  In  our  pre- 
sent state  we  could  not  bear  the  view  of  another  world, 
and  the  veil  is  kept  between,  till  our  souls  are  attempered. 
Meanwhile,  the  seed  of  the  incorruptible  is  here  now — the 
seed  of  the  everlasting  inheritance  in  these  frail  hearts,  of 
the  glorious  body  in  these  dying  frames,  of  the  new  creation 
in  the  world  we  look  on.  The  things  that  perish  encase 
them,  as  winter's  snow  covers  the  seed,  as  the  husk  the 
flower.  When  all  is  ready,  the  sun  will  come  and  the 
snow  will  melt,  the  husk  will  fall,  the  flower  will  blossom 
to  the  summer  day,  and  we  shall  see  that  the  things  which 
perish  have  also  their  place  in  the  plan  of  God.  They  are 
the  veil  between  grace  and  glory,  very  needful,  and  only 
to  be  done  away  when  that  which  is  perfect  shall  have 
come,  and  we  are  ready  to  take  possession  of  it. 

What  a  joy  to  be  assured  in  the  midst  of  changes  that 
sweep  over  all  things  round  us,  and  roll  in  their  waters  on 
our  souls,  that  there  is  something  fixed  and  eternal! 
When  everything  that  our  hearts  have  rested  on  of  the 
earthly,  the  deepest  and  dearest  to  our  human  spirits,  shakes 
to  dissolution,  there  is  a  deeper  basement  to  which  we 
can  go  down  where  all  is  immoveable,  and  which  will  give 
back  whatever  has  the  divine  in  it.  This  is  the  essence 
of  true  existence — the  union  of  the  soul  with  God.  No 
permanence  elsewhere ;  everlasting  permanence  here ;  and 
every  change  that  takes  place,  when  this  union  is  formed, 
is  but  to  give  to  this  life  with  God  more  depth  of  assur- 
ance. 

.  .  .  "All  that  is,  at  all, 

Lasts  ever,  past  recall ; 

Earth  changes,  but  thy  soul  and  God  stand  sure  : 

What  entered  into  thee, 

That  was,  is,  and  shall  be  : 

Time's  wheel  runs  back  or  stops  :  Potter  and  clay  endure." 


THINGS  PASSING  AND  THINGS  PERMANENT.  335 

What  comfort  to  know  that  all  the  changes  of  earthly 
things  are  regulated  by  the  voice  of  Christ !  They  may 
come  at  times  as  with  the  blast  of  a  tempest,  but  they  are 
measured  with  an  infinite  wisdom,  so  as  to  gain  their  end. 
They  will  touch  nothing  of  the  soul's  true  treasures ;  and, 
though  they  hide  them  for  a  while,  it  is  to  give  them  back 
again  in  a  better  and  more  enduring  form.  As  He  walks 
on  these  waves,  his  voice  may  be  heard  by  those  who 
listen,  "  It  is  I,  be  not  afraid."  He  will  still  them  as  He 
stills  our  hearts,  and  bring  us  in  safety  to  the  desired 
haven. 

It  is  Christ  who  shakes  all  things,  but  He  stands  un- 
shaken. Amid  tottering  commonwealths  and  conflicting 
creeds  and  shifting  scenes  and  dying  friends  and  fainting 
hearts,  He  abides  ever,  and  He  shakes  all  besides  that  we 
may  cling  more  closely  to  Himself  alone.  "  To  whom  can 
we  go  but  to  Thee  ?  "  and  as  we  come  we  shall  find  a 
peace  and  strength  that  are  the  pledge  of  the  eternal  life 
laid  up  in  Him — "  Jesus  Christ,  the  same  yesterday,  and 
to-day,  and  for  ever." 


XXIIT. 

THE  BETTER  RESURRECTION. 

"  Others  were  tortured,  not  accepting  deliverance  ;  that  they  might 
obtain  a  better  resurrection" — Heb.  xi.  35. 

The  eleventh  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  is 
the  roll-book  of  a  noble  army.  Human  history  records 
the  triumphs  of  knowledge  and  courage  and  energy;  the 
divine  history  records  the  triumphs  of  faith — that  great 
power  which  rises  from  earth  to  God,  and  passes  from 
time  into  eternity.  One  of  the  brightest  pages  of  this 
divine  history  is  found  in  the  Old  Testament.  The 
writer  of  this  book  looks  to  it,  as  a  man  might  look  up  to 
the  sky  in  a  clear  night  when  it  is  alive  with  stars,  and 
he  sees  it  all  bright  and  blazoned  over  with  the  names 
and  deeds  of  those  who  have  done  valiantly  through  their 
trust  in  the  living  God.  He  begins  to  count  them  one  by 
one,  and  then  they  crowd  upon  him  so  thick  and  thronged 
that  they  cannot  be  reckoned  up  in  order.  They  gather 
into  clusters  and  constellations,  like  the  seven  stars  and 
Orion,  "  clouds  of  witnesses,"  set  there  on  high  for  specta- 
tors as  examples. 

Among  these  are  found  two  groups  mentioned  in  this 
verse — "  Women  received  their  dead  raised  to  life  again  : 
and  others  were  tortured,  not  accepting  deliverance  ;  that 
they  might  obtain  a  better  resurrection."  There  is  a 
comparison  here  to  which  we  wish  to  turn  your  attention, 
but,  before  looking  at  it,  we  shall  try  briefly  to  show  the 
meaning  of  the  words. 


THE  BETTER  RESURRECTION.  337 

This  inspired  writer  teaches  us  that  these  ancient  saints 
were  believers  in  a  resurrection  to  eternal  life.  It  is 
strange  that  this  should  ever  be  doubted.  It  seems  clear 
they  were,  when  we  think  of  the  very  instinct  of  the 
spiritual  life— of  such  expressions  as  those  of  David:  "I 
shall  be  satisfied  when  I  awake  with  thy  likeness  " — or 
of  the  language  of  Martha  and  Mary  when  they  were  still 
standing  on  Old  Testament  ground :  "  I  know  that  he 
shall  rise  again  in  the  resurrection  at  the  last  day."  Their 
faith  could  not  have  the  certainty  and  clearness  which 
ours  should  have;  but  that  they  did  look  forward  to  a 
life  to  come  there  can  be  no  question.  They  gave  the 
best  evidence  of  their  faith,  for  they  submitted  to  the 
most  cruel  tortures  and  to  death,  that  they  might  obtain 
a  better  resurrection.  But  what  are  we  to  understand  by 
a  letter  resurrection  1  If  we  look  to  the  first  clause  of  the 
verse  we  shall  see — "Women  received  their  dead  raised 
to  life  again."  This  was  one  kind  of  resurrection,  a 
restoration  to  the  life  of  this  world,  and  to  achieve  it  was 
a   great    triumph    of  faith.     But   there   is    another   and 

superior  resurrection — to  the  life  of  the  eternal  world 

and  the  faith  which  carries  men  to  this  is  of  a  nobler 
kind,  because  it  is  more  difficult.  The  meaning  will  be 
more  clearly  seen  if  we  render  the  words  so  as  to  bring 
out  this  comparison—"  Women  received  their  dead  again 
by  resurrection;  and  others,  that  they  might  obtain  a 
better  resurrection,  were  tortured,  not  accepting  deliver- 
ance." 

The  women  who  thus  received  their  dead  are  recorded 
in  the  Old  Testament.  There  was  the  woman  of  Sarepta, 
in  Sidon  (1  Kings  xvii.  17),  whose  child  was  raised  by 
Elijah ;  and  there  was  the  Shunammite  woman  (2  Kings 
iv.  18),  who  had  her  child  restored  by  Elisha.  But  there 
must  have  occurred  also  to  the  mind  of  the  writer  those 

y 


338  THE  BETTER  RESURRECTION. 

women  whose  history  is  given  in  the  New  Testament — 
the  widow  of  Nain  and  the  sisters  of  Bethany — and  there- 
fore, in  speaking  of  this  subject,  we  shall  keep  them  also 
in  memory.  Those  who  were  tortured,  not  accepting 
deliverance,  may  have  been  such  men  as  Isaiah,  who  is 
said  to  have  come  to  a  violent  death  by  persecution,  and 
the  martyrs  to  the  true  Jewish  faith  in  the  time  of 
Antiochus.  In  the  New  Testament  there  were  men  like 
John  the  Baptist  and  James  and  Stephen,  who,  when 
they  could  not  retain  life  with  a  good  conscience,  freely 
surrendered  it. 

There  are  then  two  spheres  of  faith — that  of  those  whose 
dead  were  brought  back  to  a  resurrection  in  this  life,  and 
that  of  those  who  pressed  on  for  truth's  sake  to  a  better 
resurrection  in  the  heavenly  life.  The  first  of  these  has 
given  place  to  the  second,  in  the  midst  of  which  we  live ; 
and  we  shall  consider  these  three  things — the  better 
resurrection — the  higher  faith  required  for  it — and  the 
means  by  which  this  higher  faith  may  become  our  own. 

I.  We  have  to  consider  THE  better  RESURRECTION. 

Imagine  to  yourselves  an  event  you  must  in  all  likeli- 
hood meet,  or  which  many  of  you  may  already  have 
passed  through,  when  some  object  of  your  dearest  affection 
has  been  torn  from  you  by  death.  There  is  the  utter 
blank  of  desolation — the  light  of  the  eyes  in  which  you 
could  read  tenderness  and  truth,  quenched — the  heart  that 
beat  to  you  as  no  other  on  earth,  motionless — no  ear  to 
listen  to  you,  though  you  had  the  most  bitter  griefs  to  tell 
— no  counsel  or  comfort,  where  you  could  always  find  it, 
however  sore  bestead.  And  if  there  came,  in  that  day  of 
darkness,  One  who  gave  you  back  your  dead  to  be  with 
you,  to  listen  to  your  history  of  grief — of  this  very  grief 
— to  take  your  hand  in  his  again,  and  make  you  feel  he 


THE  BETTER  RESURRECTION.  339 

was  yours  as  before — more  than  before — what  could 
you  ask,  what  could  you  think  of,  better  than  this  1  It  hap- 
pened once  at  Bethany :  a  woman  received  her  dead  raised 
to  life  again,  and  a  poet  has  attempted  to  describe  it : — 

"  Her  eyes  are  homes  of  silent  prayer  ; 
Nor  other  thought  her  mind  admits 
But,  he  was  dead,  and  there  he  sits, 
And  He  that  brought  him  back  is  there." 

But  Scripture  is  silent,  and  leaves  the  joy  unspoken  of  as 
too  great.  And  yet  if  we  could  for  a  little  rise  above 
feeling,  and  appeal  to  reason— the  reason  which  comes  of 
faith — we  might  see  that  there  is  a  better  resurrection. 

For  think  of  the  place  of  it.  However  quiet  and  happy 
the  home  might  be  to  which  the  earthly  life  was  brought 
back,  it  was  part  of  a  world  which  was  smitten  with  the 
curse.  Cares  and  fears  and  dangers  and  griefs  were 
always  ready  to  invade  it.  Bethany,  with  its  tranquil 
retreat,  was  near  Jerusalem,  with  its  stormy  passions,  and 
it  felt  their  terrible  throb.  I  think  sometimes  of  the  joy 
that  was  in  it  when  Lazarus  was  brought  back,  and  then 
of  the  consternation  which  entered  it  on  the  day  of 
Calvary,  when  the  great  Friend  was  taken  away.  Or  I 
think  of  the  scenes  that  followed  Christ's  death,  when 
Olivet  was  the  marching-ground  of  Eoman  armies,  and 
the  temple  perished  in  flames  and  blood.  Better  for 
Lazarus  and  Mary  and  Martha  if  they  were  not  there  to 
look  on  it,  but  had  reached  that  higher  home,  where 
"desolation  and  destruction  and  the  famine  and  the 
sword  "  cannot  come.  And,  if  we  think  of  the  body  as 
the  place  to  which  the  soul  is  brought  back,  it  is  a  home 
that  has  also  the  curse  resting  on  it,  subject  to  pain  and 
disease,  which  often  make  death  to  be  chosen  rather  than 
life — to   long   torturing   agonies,   and   to   those   strange 


340  THE  BETTER  RESURRECTION. 

depressions  which  cloud  the  soul,  so  that  to  those  who 
look  out  at  the  windows  everything  is  darkened. 

It  is  otherwise  with  the  place  of  the  better  resurrection. 
It  can  be  most  fitly  described  in  the  language  of  God's 
own  Book : — "  There  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  it  any- 
thing that  defileth,  neither  whatsoever  worketh  abomina- 
tion or  maketh  a  lie.  And  there  shall  be  no  more  curse 
— and  there  shall  be  no  night  there ;  and  they  need  no 
candle,  neither  light  of  the  sun ;  for  the  Lord  God  giveth 
them  light,  and  they  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever."  And 
the  body  which  here  depresses  the  soul  shall  be  framed  to 
lift  it  up,  to  give  it  perception  and  vigour,  insight  and 
wing,  made  like  unto  Christ's  glorious  body;  for  "the 
earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle  shall  be  dissolved,  and 
they  shall  have  a  building  of  God,  an  house  not  made  with 
hands,  eternal,  in  the  heavens." 

Then  think,  by  way  of  comparison,  of  the  company  in 
the  place.  In  the  case  of  all  those  who  were  raised  again 
to  life  in  this  world,  we  find  that  they  were  restored  to 
the  family  circle — the  child  of  the  Shunammite  and  the 
daughter  of  Jairus,  the  son  of  the  widow  of  Nain  and  the 
brother  of  Martha  and  Mary.  There  was  an  anxiety,  if  I 
may  so  speak,  to  surround  them  with  their  nearest  friends 
when  they  opened  their  eyes  again,  that  the  first  faces 
they  looked  on  might  be  those  of  kindred — of  father, 
mother,  brother,  sister.  It  was  a  merciful  arrangement, 
to  break  the  strange  transition,  to  soothe  the  agitated, 
wondering  spirit.  But  there  was  surely  something  more 
in  it  than  this.  It  was,  I  think,  also  predictive.  For  if 
these  resurrections,  as  a  whole,  were  intended  to  help  men 
to  the  faith  of  a  power  stronger  than  death,  they  were 
also  intended  to  lead  us  to  something  of  the  manner  of 
the  life  beyond.  Do  they  not  shadow  out  this  truth,  that 
God  will  begin  our  life  again  among  those  we  have  known 


THE  BETTER  RESURRECTION.  341 

and  loved,  and  cause  us  to  open  our  eyes  in  the  bosom  of 
what  we  shall  feel  to  be  a  family  and  a  home,  with  faces 
round  us  that  are  dear  and  familiar,  and  voices,  whose 
tones  we  know,  ready  to  reassure  us  1  If  it  were  not  so 
— if  the  spirit  had  to  awake  all  solitary,  and  pursue  its 
way  cut  off  from  its  past  of  life  and  love,  we  could  not 
call  it  the  better  resurrection.  Even  in  heaven,  "the 
echoes  and  the  empty  tread  would  sound  like  voices  from 
the  dead."  Bethany  would  have  something  of  the  blissful 
in  the  joyful  reunion  of  souls,  which  heaven  itself  could 
not  show ;  and  therefore  we  must  believe  that  there  also 
God  will  "  set  the  solitary  in  families,"  and  that  in  some 
way  broken  household  ties  will  be  re-knit  "  in  the  day 
that  the  Lord  bindeth  up  the  breach  of  his  people,  and 
healeth  the  stroke  of  their  wound." 

Only,  there  will  be  something  better  in  it.  In  this 
world  our  dearest  friends  become  at  times  more  dear  to 
us.  Some  glow  in  them,  or  in  us,  suffuses  the  soul,  and 
we  feel  that  they  are  more  ours,  and  we  can  be  more 
theirs — times  when  we  see  deeper  into  each  other's  nature 
and  melt  into  one  spirit — those  times,  above  all,  when 
we  know  that  we  are  touching  one  another  in  the  thought 
and  life  of  God.  Now,  in  that  heavenly  world,  we  shall 
have  the  best  at  their  best.  The  feeling  of  sad  distrust 
which  sometimes  comes  over  us,  as  if  the  truest  human 
friendship  had  an  element  of  selfishness  in  it,  shall  pass 
away.  What  we  gain  here,  at  intervals,  in  some  chosen 
crisis  of  our  life, — the  meeting  of  souls  in  one,  and  pro- 
found, untroubled  trust  in  the  sense  of  it, — shall  then  be  a 
fixed  condition.  This  must  be  part  of  the  meaning  of 
that  word,  "They  shall  see  eye  to  eye,  when  the  Lord 
shall  bring  again  Zion."  Nor  do  I  need  to  remind  you 
how  that  company  shall  be  enlarged — what  a  grand  and 
glorious  compass  it  shall  take  in,  indicated  in  the  saying 


342  THE  BETTER  RESURRECTION. 

of  the  apostle,  "  Ye  are  come  unto  the  city  of  the  living 
God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  to  an  innumerable 
company  of  angels,  to  the  general  assembly  and  church  of 
the  firstborn  which  are  written  in  heaven."  So  that, 
while  the  heart  has  its  centre  in  a  home,  it  shall  not  grow 
narrow  nor  stagnate  there,  but  move  out  on  wide  wing, 
and  make  its  friendships  among  all  the  families  of  the 
redeemed.  So  deep  and  true  in  its  love,  and  yet  so  com- 
prehensive— a  Father's  house  with  many  mansions — shall 
be  the  state  of  the  better  resurrection. 

Think  then  of  the  essence  of  this  eternal  life.  Its 
essence  consists  in  its  entire  freedom  from  sin.  The 
presence  of  sin  in  our  nature  is  at  the  root  of  every  other 
evil,  and  deliverance  from  suffering  in  heaven  is  con- 
nected with  perfect  deliverance  from  sin.  "  The  inhabitant 
shall  not  say,  I  am  sick :  the  people  that  dwell  therein 
shall  be  forgiven  their  iniquity."  Doubt  about  God  and 
distrust  of  Him  are  the  most  painful  of  all  things  to  any 
one  who  feels  what  the  soul's  life  ought  to  be — a  perfect 
repose  in  God's  love,  that  there  may  be  freedom  and 
happiness  in  his  service.  This  world  to  most  Christians 
is  a  fitful  struggle  to  attain  a  portion  of  this.  When 
Moses  said,  "  I  beseech  Thee,  show  me  thy  glory,"  he  was 
answered  that  he  could  not  see  God's  face,  but  that  his 
name  would  be  made  to  pass  before  him,  as  "  the  Lord  God 
merciful  and  gracious."  It  is  still  the  utmost  we  can  hope 
for  here,  and  we  do  not  always  enjoy  it.  But  of  the 
resurrection-state  it  is  said,  "  They  shall  see  his  face ;  and 
his  name  shall  be  in  their  foreheads."  That  must  be  a 
happy  condition  when  all  of  them  shall  feel  the  blessed- 
ness of  the  man  whose  iniquity  is  forgiven,  and  the 
subject  which  often  causes  anxious  thought,  '  Can  I  look 
to  God  as  my  friend  and  Father?'  shall  be  settled  for 
perpetuity — no  doubt,  nor  shadow  of  a  doubt  upon  it — 


THE  BETTER  RESURRECTION.  343 

but  quietness  and  assurance  for  ever.  And  when  there 
shall  not  only  be  no  guilt  on  the  conscience,  but  no  sin  in 
the  heart,  no  lurking  sympathy  with  it,  but  every  fibre  of 
the  root  of  poison  extracted,  and  the  tree  of  life  shall  find 
its  counterpart  in  the  perfect  fruit  of  every  redeemed  soul ! 
How  blessed  must  that  state  be  when  there  shall  be  no 
envy,  nor  uucharitableness  to  any  one,  nothing  of  humilia- 
tion or  shame  for  having  done  or  cherished  what  is  im- 
pure and  base,  nothing  of  the  feeling  of  lurking  evil 
within,  which  makes  us  wishful,  if  it  were  possible,  to  hide 
our  hearts  from  the  sight  of  God  !  This  is  an  ideal  which 
it  never  entered  into  man's  heart  to  conceive,  which  the 
gospel  alone  has  taught  us,  and  which  we  feel  to  be 
worthy  of  God  and  of  our  spiritual  nature.  It  is  the 
prize  of  the  better  resurrection,  for  when  the  apostle 
speaks  of  pressing  forward  to  the  high  calling  of  God  in 
Christ,  he  connects  it  with  this,  "  If  by  any  means  I  might 
attain  unto  the  resurrection  of  the  dead"  (Phil.  iii.  11). 

But  we  have  to  think  also  of  the  security  of  this  state. 
These  resurrections  of  earth  were  a  return  to  a  world  of 
change  and  death.  Were  it  not  for  the  great  ends  to  be 
served,  it  seems  a  hard  thing  to  oblige  one  who  had  fought 
a  good  fight  and  gained  the  victory  to  enter  the  lists 
again.  After  the  joy  of  reunion  would  come  the  thought, 
But  we  have  to  part  once  more,  and  all  the  anxiety  of 
sick-beds,  the  tears  of  farewells,  the  bitterness  of  death, 
must  be  renewed.  The  shadow  has  been  retarded  on  the 
dial-plate,  not  removed — who  shall  be  mourned  next, 
when  there  is  no  great  Deliverer  to  bid  death  restore  his 
prey  1  Once  to  be  raised  to  this  world  is  twice  to  die. 
But  the  children  of  the  heavenly  resurrection  "die  no 
more;  death  hath  no  more  dominion  over  them."  The 
shadow  is  all  behind,  the  light  before,  and  the  light  shall 
no  more  go  down.     "We  can  imagine,  in  some  degree,  the 


344  THE  BETTER  RESURRECTION. 

thrill  of  rapture  at  Bethany,  when  these  women  received 
their  dead  raised  to  life  again,  and  the  joy  of  the  moment 
swallowed  up,  for  a  little,  the  fear  of  the  future.  But  to 
be  able  to  contemplate  the  future  steadily  and  see  every 
cloud  gone,  to  know  that  the  last  fight  is  over  for  all  who 
welcome  one  another  on  that  blessed  threshold,  to  have 
the  power  to  turn  to  death  and  say,  "  0  thou  enemy, 
destructions  are  come  to  a  perpetual  end," — who  shall 
help  us  to  imagine  this  ?  , 

There  is  one  thing  more  without  which  the  thought  of 
this  better  resurrection  would  be  incomplete — the  presence 
to  which  it  introduces.  The  best  of  these  other  resurrec- 
tions brought  their  subjects  into  the  earthly  presence  of 
the  Son  of  God ;  but  this,  into  his  heavenly  fellowship.  At 
times  we  look  back  with  longing  desire  to  the  intercourse 
which  some  of  our  fellow-men  had  with  the  great  Saviour 
and  friend  of  sinners, — to  the  Galilean  hills  and  the 
house  of  Bethany  and  the  upper  chamber  of  Jerusalem. 
We  cannot  escape  this.  His  presence  was  so  near  and 
human  and  homelike.  And  yet  they  did  not  enjoy  it  as 
we  think.  There  was  the  veil  of  their  imperfect  vision, 
and  of  his  humiliation,  between.  It  is  the  light  from  his 
resurrection  which  lets  us  see  so  much  more  in  Him,  and 
which  stirs  up  these  desires.  And  in  the  better  resurrec- 
tion this  will  be  completed.  Christ  will  not  be  farther 
from  his  friends  in  his  exaltation,  but  nearer  them. 
For  as  the  human  nature  in  Him  was  intended  to  bring 
the  Divine  more  close  to  us,  so,  the  more  we  see  the 
Divine  in  Him,  the  closer  shall  we  feel  the  human.  The 
more  of  God  we  feel  in  humanity,  the  more  there  is  of 
true  humanity  to  touch  us.  And  it  seems  as  if,  after  He 
rose,  his  friends  felt  a  deeper  power  in  his  words,  a  more 
tender  and  tremulous  sympathy  in  his  nature.  Think  of 
Mary's  cry  of  rapture  when  He  spoke  to  her  by  his  open 


THE  BETTER  RESURRECTION.  345 

grave— of  the  burning  heart  of  the  two  as  they  walked  to 
Emmaus — of  the  joy  of  the  disciples  when  they  saw  the 
Lord, — and  let  us  be  very  sure  that  this,  and  far  more  than 
this,  is  felt  by  those  who  have  entered  his  presence,  not 
only  beyond  His  death,  but  beyond  their  own. 

It  is  true  their  resurrection  is  not  yet  complete  in 
itself,  but  it  is,  as  they  are,  complete  in  Him.  His  hand 
is  on  their  grave,  his  peace  is  in  their  heart.  He  bids 
them  rest  for  a  little  season,  and  they  wait  in  calm  and 
happy  expectancy,  with  an  unalloyed  and  satisfying  fore- 
taste, for  they  have  already  felt  that  to  depart  and  to  be 
with  Christ  is  far  better. 

II.  We  come  now,  in  the  second  place,  to  THE  higher 
faith  required  FOR  THIS  resurrection.  It  needed  very 
great  confidence  in  the  living  God  to  believe  that  He  could 
reanimate  the  dead  frame  which  the  soul  had  quitted 
for  a  few  hours  or  days;  but  to  face  entire  decay  and 
mouldering  dust,  and  to  believe  that  those  who  sleep  in 
it  shall  yet  awake  and  sing,  this  requires  a  frame  of  soul 
still  nobler.  Let  us  mention  some  of  its  features,  that  we 
may  aim  at  them. 

It  needs  more  of  what  I  may  call  the  patience  of  faith. 
The  faith  of  the  sisters  of  Bethany  demanded  one  great 
effort,  and  the  battle  was  gained.  But  ours  cannot  be  so 
compressed.  We  have  to  bury  our  dead  out  of  our  sight, 
to  wait  the  weary  days  and  years,  and  "  feel  God's  heaven 
so  distant."  Poor  children  of  sorrow,  you  know  what  it 
is  to  be  cheered  by  the  first  rush  of  comfort  when  you 
think  of  their  happy  change,  and  then  to  have  the  cold- 
ness of  hope  deferred  creep  over  you,  to  realise  the  long 
and  lonely  way  you  have  to  walk  before  you  meet  them 
again.  "Till  the  heavens  be  no  more,  they  shall  not 
awake,  nor  be  raised  out  of  their  sleep."     This   needs 


346  THE  BETTER  RESURRECTION. 

patience.  We  must  endure  the  scorn  of  unbelievers,  the 
talk  of  unchanging  earthly  laws  rolled  like  the  great  stone 
to  the  door  of  the  sepulchre,  and  must  listen  to  the  taunts 
of  those  who  rejoice  most  when  they  think  they  hear  the 
iron  gates  of  a  materialistic  universe  grate  in  upon  the 
grave  as  an  eternal  prison.  We  have  to  struggle  with  the 
murmurs  of  our  own  hearts,  that  it  is  hard  in  God  to  put 
us  to  so  long  and  so  sore  an  encounter.  If  we  had  but 
one  grand  heroic  effort,  we  sometimes  say,  we  could  nerve 
ourselves  for  it,  but  this  harassing  warfare,  day  after  day, 
with  fightings  without  and  fears  within,  is  more  than  we 
can  bear.  And  yet,  you  see,  there  are  those  who  have 
endured  it  all — of  whom  the  voice  from  heaven  has  said, 
"  Here  is  the  patience  and  the  faith  of  the  saints." 

It  needs  also  more  of  what  we  may  call  the  sanctified 
imagination  of  faith.  The  circle  of  these  earthly  resurrec- 
tions was  very  narrow  and  very  simple  compared  with 
that  which  we  expect.  Their  faith  had  only  to  bring 
back  their  dead  to  the  old  accustomed  house,  the  well- 
known  seat,  the  familiar  haunts.  Ours  has  to  win  out  a 
footing  for  itself  from  the  void  and  formless  infinite,  where 
the  scenes  and  inhabitants  and  states  of  mind  are  so 
different  that  our  friends  seem  to  have  passed  away  beyond 
our  knowledge.  Our  thought  falls  back,  like  a  bird  whose 
wings  find  the  air  too  thin.  '  If  we  could  only  see  them 
for  one  little  minute,'  we  say,  'as  they  are,  we  should 
walk  on,  so  satisfied  and  calm  in  heart,  till  we  meet  them 
again.  But  the  very  light  in  which  they  live  makes  their 
state  so  dark  to  us.'  Yet  there  are  those  who  have  risen 
above  this  also.  There  is  an  imagination  of  faith,  not 
unbridled  nor  unscriptural,  which  has  formed  for  itself  a 
true  and  real  world  beyond  death,  which  gives  substance 
to  things  hoped  for,  and  thereby  helps  to  the  evidence  of 
things   not   seen.     The  Bible  has   encouraged    it   by  its 


THE  BETTER  RESURRECTION.  347 

figures — "  the  tree  of  life,"  "  the  river  of  life,"  "  the  city  of 
gold,"  "  the  Father's  house  of  many  mansions," — and 
imagination  has  no  nobler  work  than  to  enter  among  these 
visions,  and  brood  and  muse  till  they  become  a  palpable 
and  real  world :  and  till  those  who  are  not,  because  God 
has  taken  them,  are  seen  walking  there.  "Now,"  says 
the  most  vivid  of  such  true  dreamers,  "just  as  the  gates 
were  opened  to  let  in  the  men,  I  looked  in  after  them,  and 
behold,  the  city  shone  like  the  sun ;  the  streets  also  were 
paved  with  gold,  and  in  them  walked  many  men,  with 
crowns  on  their  heads,  palms  in  their  hands,  and  golden 
harps  to  sing  praises  withal.  Which  when  I  had  seen,  I 
wished  myself  among  them." 

This  better  resurrection  needs  more  of  the  spiritual 
insight  of  faith.  The  faith  of  those  who  received  their 
dead  back  to  the  present  life  had  a  visible  Helper  with 
wonder-working  power  standing  before  them.  God  was 
pleased  to  vouchsafe  them  such  aid  because  they  required 
it.  Their  faith  could  take  but  short  steps,  and  his  hand 
was  put  out  to  uphold  its  infant  goings.  Our  faith  has 
not  such  aid.  It  has  a  harder,  but  a  nobler  work.  It 
must  seek  to  live  as  seeing  Him  who  is  invisible.  It  must 
rest  for  its  ultimate  foundation,  not  on  any  outward  sign, 
not  even  on  any  uttered  word  as  spoken  to  the  ear,  but  on 
the  nature  of  God  himself,  and  the  life  He  infuses  into 
the  soul — on  that  basis  which  Christ  has  given  it,  "  God 
is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living."  Christ 
himself  must  be  known  to  us  in  his  ever-living,  spiritual 
power.  "I  am" — not  "I  promise" — but  "/  am  the 
Eesurrection  and  the  Life;"  and  then  it  follows,  "He 
that  hath  the  Son  hath  life."  This  is  harder,  we  say,  but 
it  is  nobler.  There  are  men  who  have  risen  to  it,  to 
whom  the  unseen  Christ  has  been  as  sure  a  reality  as  the 
sunlight,  and  who   have   gained   through    Him   a  more 


348  THE  BETTER  RESURRECTION. 

glorious  vision  than  sunbeams  ever  disclosed.     "  They  saw 
the  King  in  his  beauty,  and  the  land  that  is  very  far  off." 

III.  We  shall  consider  now,  briefly,  some  of  the  WAYS 
IN  WHICH  WE  MAY  STRENGTHEN  OURSELVES  IN  THIS 
HIGHER  FAITH. 

It  is  necessary  that  we  should  limit  our  view  here,  and 
therefore  we  shall  take  only  some  of  the  thoughts  imme- 
diately connected  with  our  text. 

The  first  thought  is  one  addressed  to  your  reason. 
We  read  here  of  men  who  were  tortured,  not  accepting 
deliverance,  that  they  might  obtain  a  better  resurrection. 
They  surrendered  all  that  life  holds  dear,  and  life  itself, 
from  loyalty  to  the  God  of  truth.  Not  only  is  the  Bible 
full  of  this,  but  the  course  of  history.  The  noble  army  of 
the  martyrs  is  seen  in  every  age,  marching  on,  by  scaffold 
and  through  fire,  into  the  unseen.  I  do  not  appeal  to 
them  now  to  confirm  the  truth  of  any  one  doctrine,  but 
to  prove  this,  which  lies  at  the  root  of  all  doctrine,  that 
the  soul  of  man  can  love  truth  more  than  life.  If  you  will 
think  of  it  reasonably,  it  will  give  you  a  conviction  that  in 
man  there  is  a  principle  above  what  can  be  given  by  dead 
matter,  and  that  the  system  of  the  universe  must  be 
framed  in  some  way  to  meet  this  fact.  Can  you  imagine 
that  their  self-devotion  was  founded  on  delusion,  and  that 
God  has  made  his  world  so  that  the  noblest  and  divinest 
deeds  in  its  history  have  a  perpetual  falsehood  at  their 
heart1?  Then  the  temporisers  and  hypocrites  would  be 
the  wise  men,  and  the  faithful  unto  death  would  be  the 
self-deluded  fools.  Even  if  a  man  were  to  say,  "  There  is 
no  God,"  would  not  a  universe  that  grew  up  to  moral 
perception  by  the  strength  of  a  lie — that  cheated  true 
men  in  order  to  build  up  truth, — would  not  such  a 
universe  be  a  self-contradiction,  and  a  thing  of  deserved 


THE  BETTER  RESURRECTION.  349 

contempt  ]  It  would  falsify  our  holiest  instincts,  and  be 
at  everlasting  war  with  the  soul's  deepest  voice.  And, 
therefore,  as  we  believe  in  the  honest  structure  of  the 
universe,  we  believe  in  God,  and,  believing  in  God,  we 
must  hold  that  these  men  were  advancing  through  death 
to  a  great  reality.  You  may  see  kindling  on  their  faces 
the  reflection  of  an  eternal  sunrise,  the  light  of  the  better 
resurrection. 

The  next  thought  we  draw  from  the  context  is  one 
addressed  to  your  heart.  "Women  received  their  dead 
raised  to  life  again."  Observe  the  expression,  "Women 
— their  dead."  That  side  of  human  nature  which  has  the 
deepest  affection  is  clinging  to  its  dead,  claiming  an 
abiding  right  of  possession  in  them,  and  aiding  faith  to 
draw  its  lost  treasure  back  to  its  arms.  And  it  is  a 
striking  truth  that  in  all  the  resurrections  of  which  we 
read  there  was  not  only  strong  faith,  bat  deep  love — the 
love  of  woman.  When  Christ  raised  the  daughter  of  Jairus, 
he  took  in  with  Him  the  father  and  the  mother  of  the 
damsel.  When  He  saw  the  widow  of  Nain  weeping,  He 
had  compassion  on  her,  and  said  unto  her,  "  Weep  nob ; " 
and  He  said  unto  the  young  man,  "  Arise,"  and  delivered 
him  to  his  mother.  When  He  saw  Mary  weeping,  and 
the  Jews  weeping  which  came  with  her,  He  was  moved  to 
perform  his  greatest  work,  and  cried  with  a  loud  voice, 
"  Lazarus,  come  forth !"  And  Christ  himself  was  no 
exception.  There  were  tears  of  women  heard  outside  his 
grave;  and  He  listened  and  yielded  to  their  love  as  well 
as  to  their  faith  :  and  they  too  received  their  dead  raised 
to  life  again — the  ground  and  the  pledge  of  every  other 
resurrection  to  life  eternal.  Let  us  not  think  that  these 
things  are  without  a  meaning.  God  intended  that  our 
deepest  heart  affections  should  be  the  helpers  of  our  high- 
est hopes,  and  the  instinctive  guarantees  of  a  life  to  come. 


350  THE  BETTER  RESURRECTION. 

When  the  Shunammite  woman  came  to  the  prophet  to 
tell  him  of  her  dead  son,  she  said,  "  Did  I  desire  a  son  of 
my  lord  1  did  I  not  say,  Do  not  deceive  me  1 "  As  if  she 
had  said,  '  Now  that  he  has  been  given  and  taken  away,  I 
am  deceived ;  my  heart  has  been  drawn  out  only  to  be 
mocked ! '  And  if  it  were  so  that  God  had  bestowed  on 
us  these  yearning  affections,  and  then  taken  away  their 
objects  for  ever,  He  would  be  torturing  us  hopelessly  by 
that  which  He  has  put  into  us  of  the  most  tender  and 
pure.  We  have  a  right  to  reason  that  He  would  either 
have  made  our  love  less  deep  and  lasting,  or  that  there 
must  be  a  final  home  in  which  its  longings  shall  be 
realised.  Every  pure  affection  points  us  towards  a  city 
in  the  skies ;  every  happy  Christian  home  is  a  pledge  of 
it;  every  bereaved  heart  is  a  divine  reason  for  it.  A 
ground  this  why  you  should  make  your  family  ties  so 
loyal  and  sacred  that  they  shall  keep  your  dead  still 
yours,  and  bind  you  irrevocably  to  a  life  to  come. 

The  last  way  we  mention  of  confirming  ourselves  in 
this  faith  is  addressed  to  the  spirit  It  is  gained  by  the 
exercise  of  that  spiritual  insight  to  which  we  have  already 
referred,  leading  the  way  to  a  spiritual  life.  The  object 
of  this  sight,  and  the  source  of  this  life,  is  described  by  the 
sacred  writer  in  words  that  follow — "  Looking  unto  Jesus 
the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith ;  who  for  the  joy  that 
was  set  before  Him  endured  the  cross,  despising  the 
shame,  and  is  set  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of 
God."  Seasoning  about  immortality  may  lead  us  so  far, 
and  the  instinct  of  the  heart  may  lead  us  further;  but  I 
know  of  no  certainty  save  what  grows  from  union  with 
the  dying  and  risen  and  living  Son  of  God.  Some  men 
may  speak  of  this  as  mystical,  and  regard  us  as  visionaries ; 
but  they  are  words  of  truth  and  soberness,  and  have  been 
tested  in  the  calm,  constant  life,  and  happy,  hopeful  death, 


THE  BETTER  RESURRECTION.  351 

of  thousands  upon  thousands  of  our  fellow-men.  It  is  not 
only  possible  to  some,  but  open  and  offered  to  all,  to  be- 
come so  conscious  of  God's  sustaining  grace,  in  duty  and 
in  trial,  to  be  so  joined  in  fellowship  to  an  unseen  but  real 
presence,  that  we  shall  feel  we  have  a  life  formed  in  us 
which  can  never  die.  There  is  a  spring  of  immortality 
not  only  welling  out  from  the  throne  of  God,  but  ready  to 
rise  up  in  every  heart  that  will  admit  Him  who  is  the  true 
God  and  eternal  life.  It  is  this  faith  entering  into  the 
soul  as  a  vital  principle  which  formed  those  ancient 
martyrs,  who  counted  it  all  joy  to  face  suffering  and  shame, 
and  to  meet  death,  when  the  God  of  truth  summoned 
them.  They  are  sleeping,  wide  apart,  in  the  catacombs  of 
Rome,  and  the  Greyfriars  of  Edinburgh ;  and  it  was  no 
vague  guess,  no  nebulous  haze  of  sentiment,  that  made 
them  fill  those  graves;  but  because  Christ's  own  life  in 
them  had  made  them  partakers  of  the  powers  of  the  world 
to  come.  It  has  been  asked  by  some  who  hang  garlands 
on  their  sepulchres, '  Who  would  be  martyrs  now-a-days  1 ' 
and  they  add  '  that  the  bitterness  of  the  question  lies  in 
its  truth.'  Those  who  make  such  a  statement  might 
surely  ask  themselves  whether  the  principles  held  by  them 
can  possibly  be  the  same  on  which  these  heroic  souls  of 
old  lived  and  died ;  and  they  might  further  ask  themselves 
whether  the  principles  can  be  true  which  are  confessedly 
unable  to  nerve  men  against  the  last  extremity  of  duty 
and  of  trial.  I  thank  God,  and  I  am  sure  you  can  thank 
Him  with  me,  that  we  have  known  men  who  would  have 
been  martyrs,  and  that  we  know  them  yet — men  who 
have  proved  their  allegiance  to  truth  so  fearlessly  against 
reproach  and  loss — who  have  faced  the  "  arrowy  sleet  and 
hail "  of  the  bitterest  calamities  so  calmly  and  nobly,  day 
by  day,  as  to  make  us  feel  with  the  surest  conviction  that 
they  would  have  walked  to  the  scaffold  or  the  stake. 


352  THE  BETTER  RESURRECTION. 

This  is  not  a  thing  to  promise  for  ourselves,  but  no  man 
shall  stop  me  of  this  boasting  on  behalf  of  men  and  women 
I  have  known.  We  may  not  be  able  on  our  own  part  to 
realise  God's  grace  as  so  powerful  in  us  that  we  could  meet, 
here  and  now,  the  martyr's  death.  But  one  thing  we  can 
seek  to  do :  We  can  let  Christ's  life  rise  in  us  as  a  life  of 
humble  obedience  to  the  will  of  God.  We  can  say  in  the 
sorest  trial,  '  I  would  not  have  it  otherwise  when  it  is  He 
who  puts  the  cup  into  my  hand ;  I  would  not  choose  to 
live  if  He  has  seen  the  time  fit  for  me  to  die.'  And,  even 
if  we  cannot  yet  advance  to  this,  we  can  let  our  life  be  a 
following  of  God's  will  day  by  day ;  we  can  learn  what  it 
is  daily  to  die  to  sin  and  self,  being  made  conformable 
unto  the  death  of  Christ.  And  then,  when  the  crisis 
comes,  we  shall  be  ready  for  it.  The  martyr's  spirit 
descends  on  him  when  the  fire  is  kindled,  and  the 
Christian's  willingness  to  depart  comes  when  his  Master 
calls.  There  is  the  same  grace  for  both,  and  the  same 
triumph.  "  Thanks  be  to  God  who  giveth  us  the  victory 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ! " 


XXIV. 

THE   COMPLAINT   FOR   FRUSTRATED   AIMS. 

"  Then  I  said,  I  have  laboured  in  vain,  I  have  spent  my 
strength  for  nought,  and  in  vain :  yet  surely  my  judgment 
is  with  the  Lord,  and  my  work  with  my  God." — Isataii 
xlix.  4. 

The  final  and  perfect  reference  of  these  words  is  to  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  best  proof  of  this  is  that  the 
passage  is  applied  to  Him  by  the  apostle  Paul  and  by 
Barnabas  (Acts  xiii.  47) ;  and,  if  any  will  not  accept  this 
authority,  we  have  no  further  reason  at  present  to  give. 
These  interpreters  at  the  fountain-head  tell  us  that  Christ 
is  the  great  speaker  here, — He  who  comes  as  "  a  light  to 
the  Gentiles,  as  God's  salvation  unto  the  end  of  the  earth." 
All  the  highest  utterances  of  the  Old  Testament  go  forward 
till  they  find  their  complete  fulfilment  through  the  voice  of 
the  eternal  and  incarnate  "Word  of  God. 

But  they  are  in  general,  if  not  always,  the  utterances  of 
living  men  like  ourselves,  and  are  real  parts  of  human 
nature  and  history.  These  prophetic  sayings  go  to  Christ, 
not  outside  of  and  separate  from  man's  struggle,  but  in 
and  through  it.  As  all  true  Christians  are  living  over 
again,  in  an  imperfect  way,  the  details  of  Christ's  own 
experience,  so  were  all  true  godly  men,  before  his  coming, 
feeling  their  way  into  it,  being  guided  by  Christ's  Spirit 
and  having  the  throb  of  his  life,  which  is  the  life  of  God, 
already  palpitating  in  their  bosoms.     This  is  what  makes 

z 


354     THE  COMPLAINT  FOR  FRUSTRATED  AIMS. 

the  Old  Testament  a  divinely  permanent  book  :  it  con- 
tains the  record  of  the  felt  weaknesses  and  wants,  aspira- 
tions and  hopes  ©f  the  spiritual  nature,  stirred  up  by  God 
himself,  and  taught  to  stretch  out  their  longing  arms  to 
Him  who  is  the  Desire  of  all  nations.  It  is  God  in  the 
beginning  of  his  new  and  higher  creation,  who  is  moving 
over  the  face  of  the  waters,  preparing  for  the  time  when 
He  shall  speak  the  word  "  Let  there  be  light,"  and  cause 
the  day-spring  from  on  high  to  visit  his  world.  But  the 
waters  over  which  He  moves  are  the  great  deeps  of  human 
hearts,  that  swell  and  utter  their  voice  and  lift  up  their 
hands  on  high  while  He  passes  over  them.  We  never  close 
rightly  such  far-reaching  desires  until  they  attain  their  end 
in  the  world's  Redeemer,  but  neither  do  we  begin  them 
naturally  unless  we  trace  in  them  something  of  our  common 
human  feelings  seeking  their  satisfaction  and  completion 
in  Him.     It  is  thus  that  we  shall  consider  these  words. 

They  bring  before  us  a  feeling  that  belongs  to  the  human 
heart  in  all  places  and  times — the  complaint  of  man  for  frus- 
trated aims.  It  is  not  easy  to  say  in  what  distinct  form  it  is 
present  to  the  mind  of  the  original  speaker  here.  Some- 
times he  appears  to  express  the  feeling  as  his  own  personal 
experience — a  man  among  his  fellow-men — and  sometimes 
he  seems  to  personify  the  nation  to  which  he  belongs.  Pro- 
bably both  are  struggling  together  in  his  heart.  The 
people  of  his  race  were  selected  by  God  for  a  great  pur- 
pose— to  hold  -up  his  name  and  knowledge  pure  and 
unsullied  in  the  midst  of  the  world's  defections.  But  the 
purpose  is,  for  the  while,  an  apparent  failure.  The  world 
has  corrupted  those  who  should  have  purified  it,  and  God's 
judgment  has  fallen  on  their  unfaithfulness  till  they  are 
scattered  among  the  heathen  and  ready  to  perish.  It 
seems  as  if  Israel's  history  were  labour  in  vain.  For  him- 
self, the  prophet  thought  that  he  had  been  chosen  to  bring 


THE  COMPLAINT  FOR  FRUSTRATED  AIMS.      355 

back  his  people  to  the  way  of  truth  and  righteousness. 
God's  word  shaped  itself  like  a  sharp  two-edged  sword  in 
his  mouth,  till  he  felt  as  if  it  must  be  irresistible,  and  that 
he  was  hidden  like  an  arrow  in  the  hand  of  an  unerring 
marksman,  to  smite  home  to  heart  and  conscience  and  bring 
down  their  pride  into  the  obedience  of  truth.  But  the 
sword  had  found  no  entrance  in  the  joints  of  the  harness, 
and  the  shaft  had  glanced  aside,  pointless  if  not  broken. 
The  people  have  erred,  the  prophet  has  failed,  and  he 
speaks  both  for  himself  and  for  the  best  part  of  the 
nation,  the  true  Israel  of  the  Covenant, — "  Then  I  said, 
I  have  laboured  in  vain,  I  have  spent  my  strength  for 
nought,  and  in  vain." 

I.  The  first  thing  we  ask  you  to  consider  here  is,  soiroiv 
for  the  failure  of  labour.  In  thinking  of  this  we  may  go 
down  to  a  still  lower  stage  than  that  from  which  these 
words  sprang  in  the  heart  of  this  man  of  God.  The  com- 
plaint is  made  by  many  who  have  never  sympathised  with 
his  high  aim  or  shared  in  his  divine  work.  It  is  the  cry 
that  has  passed  on  from  generation  to  generation  through- 
out the  history  of  the  world — -the  heavy  sigh  of  toiling, 
yearning,  unsatisfied  humanity,  "  I  have  laboured  in  vain." 
Who  has  been  always  exempt  from  it,  high  or  low  1  Who 
does  not  feel  it,  sooner  or  later,  when  he  pauses  for  a  time 
in  the  midst  of  the  world's  struggle  and  looks  round  to 
estimate  his  real  gain  ]  When  we  think  of  what  life  might 
be  and  the  poor  thing  we  have  made  of  it ;  of  the  wonder- 
ful instrument  put  into  the  hand  of  the  weakest  of  us,  in 
being  possessed  of  a  soul  capable  of  such  development  and 
influence,  and  that  we  have  so  idled  with  it,  and  dwarfed 
and  debased  it ;  when  we  recal  perhaps  the  great  visions 
which  once  glimmered  before  us  of  what  might  be  accom- 
plished by  earnest  effort,   and  then  the   miserable  result, 


356  THE  COMPLAINT  FOR  FRUSTRATED  AIMS. 

"  the  petty  done,  the  undone  vast," — these  words  may  well 
express  our  feeling. 

Take  the  first  of  the  two  great  objects  that  call  man  to 
labour — the  gratification  of  self.  Most  men  commence 
their  work  with  this,  and  too  many  never  pass  beyond  it. 
They  make  their  personal  pleasure  in  some  form  the  centre 
of  all  their  efforts.  The  desire  of  their  heart  may  be 
sensual  or  airy — the  spider  may  weave  a  web  dusky  and 
dense  or  threaded  like  silver — but  it  is  still  the  same  if 
self  sits  in  the  midst.  The  object  may  be  animal  gratifica- 
tion, the  lowest  and  most  evanescent  of  all  the  things  that 
a  man  can  pursue,  or  the  acquisition  of  wealth  and  power, 
or  fame  and  fashion,  or  knowledge  and  affection,  the  high- 
est things  next  to  the  divine  which  a  man  can  covet.  It 
is  not  necessary  to  deny  that  these  objects  have  their 
attractions,  that  many  of  them  in  their  place  have  their 
own  value ;  but  it  is  well  to  consider  how  often  men  are 
brought  to  confess  that  they  have  spent  their  strength 
vainly  in  the  pursuit  of  them.  We  may  learn  at  least  to 
moderate  our  ardour  and  to  give  them  their  proper  place. 
How  few  prizes  are  drawn  for  the  many  blanks !  The 
power  and  wealth  have  always  gone  to  the  minority,  and 
must  continue  to  do  so  ; — no  possible  way  of  avoiding  this. 
But  that  minority  does  not  find  in  the  prizes  the  pleasure 
which  onlookers  fancy.  To  think  of  this  may  be  a  con- 
solation to  some  envious  men,  but  to  most  of  us,  I  trust, 
it  is  very  sad.  When  some  one  spoke  to  Napoleon  of  his 
Italian  campaign,  and  asked  if  that  marvellous  part  of  his 
career  did  not  give  him  exquisite  pleasure,  he  replied  :  "  It 
did  not  give  me  one  moment  of  peace.  Life  was  only 
incessant  strife  and  solicitude.  The  inevitable  battle  of 
the  morrow  might  annihilate  all  memory  of  the  victory  of 
to-day."  We  cannot  doubt  that  this  witness  was  true. 
We  may  call  to  mind  the  saying  of  poor  Keats  when  dying: 


THE  COMPLAINT  FOR  FRUSTRATED  AIMS.  357 

"  I  have  written  my  name  in  water  j  "  nor  would  it  probably 
have  comforted  him  much  more  at  that  time  to  think  he  had 
engraved  it  in  marble.  Even  affection  and  sympathy, — how 
often  are  they  not  reciprocated,  or  returned  with  ingrati- 
tude, or  felt  to  be  not  of  the  deep  kind  the  heart  had 
yearned  for  !  All  these  things  are  frequent  deductions  from 
the  prizes  of  life  which  men  covet,  and,  even  though  they 
were  gained  to  the  full,  there  is  one  thing  they  all  want — 
continuance.  When  a  man  is  brought  to  look  at  the  best 
of  them  and  compare  them  with  what  his  nature  needs  in 
its  depth  and  breadth  and  length,  he  must  say,  "  I  have 
laboured  in  vain." 

We  have  said  that  there  are  two  great  objects  that  urge 
man  to  labour ;  the  first  is  self,  the  second  is  God  and  the 
good  of  his  world.  We  may  be  thankful  that  many,  even 
of  those  who  are  labouring  for  personal  objects,  mingle  with 
their  work  a  pure,  disinterested  kindness,  and  that  there  are 
some  men  in  whom  self  seems  entirely  forgotten,  who  are 
consumed  as  by  a  burning  passion  to  spend  themselves  in 
the  effort  to  make  God's  earth  better  and  his  creatures 
happier  than  they  found  them.  The  speaker  here  was  one 
of  them,  and  it  seems  strange  that  he,  too,  is  visited  by  a 
sense  of  failure.  And  yet  it  is  not  so  strange.  The  higher 
a  man's  idea  of  what  the  condition  of  the  world  should  be 
— of  what  a  reign  of  righteousness  and  happiness  there 
might  be  if  God  had  his  due  place — the  more  likely  is  he 
to  be  depressed  at  times  by  the  view  of  things  around 
him,  and  the  slow  way  in  which  all  our  effort  is  bringing 
us  to  the  goaT\  Do  we  not  feel  as  if  the  Gospel  of  the 
blessed  God  itself  were  doubtfully  struggling  to  prove  it- 
self a  success '?  Evils  are  cured  so  imperceptibly,  if  they 
are  cured  at  all ;  they  leave  in  one  form,  to  return  in 
another  ;  and  sometimes,  instead  of  the  demon  we  cast  out, 
seven  others  worse  than  the  first  take  its  place.     When  we 


358  THE  COMPLAINT  FOR  FRUSTRATED  AIMS. 

think  of  all  that  Christianity  promised  in  the  first  flusli  of 
its  spring — of  all  the  glorious  things  which  it  hides  in  the 
germ — and  when  we  compare  the  miserable  ears,  blasted 
with  the  east  wind,  with  the  rich  harvest  of  a  ransomed 
and  regenerated  humanity  which  we  hoped  for,  it  seems  to 
us  very  often  like  labour  in  vain.  All  of  you  who  have 
set  to  work  earnestly  to  do  good  in  your  own  sphere  must 
have  met  with  like  disappointments,  especially  if  you  have 
commenced  your  work  with  high  enthusiasm.  How  many 
teachers  with  their  scholars,  parents  with  their  children, 
men  with  their  fellow-men,  and  Christians  with  professed 
fellow-Christians,  have  laboured  to  educate  and  elevate 
and  reclaim,  and  have  felt  the  dead  dulness  of  no  result, 
no  echo  to  their  earnest  appeals,  or  echoes  that  misrepre- 
sent and  mock  them !  The  seed  you  sow  never  perhaps 
springs,  or  if  it  does,  it  has  the  tares  with  it ;  or,  it  is  so 
different  from  what  you  expected  that  it  seems  itself  the 
tares.  We  have  all  such  hours  when  disappointments 
crowd  in  upon  us,  and  we  feel  as  if  we  had  spent  our 
strength  for  nought  and  in  vain. 

II.  Let  us  consider  next  some  of  the  temptations  to  which 
this  sorrow  for  the  failure  of  labour  is  subject. 

We  may  take  first,  again,  that  class  of  men  who  have 
set  before  them  in  life  some  personal  object,  and  have  been 
disappointed  in  it.  Some  of  you  have  not  succeeded  as  you 
would  wish  in  the  world's  battlefield.  You  have  not  gained 
the  position  or  the  comfort  or  the  reputation  to  which  you 
think  your  merits  and  your  efforts  entitle  you.  Your 
affections  have  not  been  satisfied,  and  you  have  a  sense  of 
loneliness  and  want  of  sympathy.  The  great  temptation 
in  such  cases  is  for  men  to  brood  over  and  magnify  their 
disappointment.  There  are  many  who,  because  they  have 
not  gained  some  favourite  object,  hasten  to  the  conclusion 


THE  COMPLAINT  FOR  FRUSTRATED  AIMS.     359 

that  life  has  no  more  any  good  for  them.  They  embrace 
failure  with  a  sort  of  morbid  pleasure,  and  idolise  grief. 
This  is  of  all  things  the  most  barren,  and  their  apathy  be- 
comes more  selfish  than  their  activity.  Under  the  show 
of  being  weaned  from  the  world,  it  has  the  very  essence  of 
worldliness.  It  is  ready  to  turn  over,  not  merely  into  de- 
spair about  themselves,  but  into  peevishness  with  all  around 
them,  envy  at  better  success  than  their  own,  and  discon- 
tentment with  the  arrangements  of  God's  providence.  The 
light-hearted  cheerfulness  that  chases  new  objects  still  to 
be  disappointed  is  better  in  the  light  of  this  life,  and  no 
worse  in  the  light  of  another,  than  the  moody  spirit  which 
frets  at  disappointment  without  learning  any  true  lesson 
from  it. 

Then  as  to  those  who  have  a  higher  aim  in  life  than  any 
mere  personal  one — who  are  truly  seeking  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  good  of  their  fellow-men — they  have  also  their 
temptations  under  failure.  We  are  so  ready  to  judge  of 
the  plan  of  the  world  by  our  own  little  share  in  it,  and  to 
think  all  the  war  is  lost  when  our  small  detachment  suffers 
a  check.  We  have  taken  up  some  cause,  of  the  excellence 
of  which  we  are  thoroughly  convinced,  but  its  chariot- 
wheels  drag  heavily  or  roll  backward.  We  have  set  our 
hearts  on  reclaiming  some  fallen  fellow-creature,  and,  not- 
withstanding all  our  efforts,  there  is  no  token  of  amend- 
ment, or  our  hopes  are  lifted  up  only  to  be  cast  down  with 
a  more  bitter  sense  of  defeat.  Our  sacrifices  of  means  and 
time  turn  out  to  have  been  misapplied,  and  our  kindness 
heartlessly  abused.  Such  cases  are  occurring  daily,  and  it 
is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  they  make  the  hands  of 
earnest  workers  hang  down.  It  is  not  for  gratitude  they 
work,  but  it  is  very  hard  to  go  on  labouring  when  it  turns 
to  no  account.  They  have  their  confidence  in  human 
nature  and  even  in  divine  truth  greatly  shaken ;  they  feel 


360      THE  COMPLAINT  FOR  FRUSTRATED  AIMS. 

as  if  evil  in  the  world  were  an  overwhelmingly  gigantic 
enemy  which  it  is  hopeless  to  attack.  It  comes  every  day 
with  its  boastful  challenge  and  its  brazen  armour,  and  God 
seems  to  stand  aloof  in  indifference,  till  we  are  tempted  to 
do  the  same  and  to  put  up  the  prayer,  not  in  faith  but  in 
fretfulness — "  Arise,  0  God,  plead  thine  own  cause."  We 
have  tried  and  failed,  and  shall  try  no  more.  Let  God 
himself  look  to  it.  There  is  much  of  the  apathy  of  indolence 
among  Christian  men  ;  but  we  must  all  feel  that  there  is 
much  also  of  this  apathy  of  disappointment,  and  that,  even 
where  it  does  not  stop  our  hands,  it  lies  like  a  stone  upon 
our  hearts,  and  prevents  us  going  forward  with  that  joyful 
vigour  which  is  the  fore-token  of  victory. 

III.  We  shall  now  consider,  in  the  third  place,  the 
resource  we  have  in  the  midst  of  this  sorrow  for  failure. 
It  is  in  these  words :  "  Yet  surely  my  judgment  is  with 
the  Lord,  and  my  work  with  my  God." 

There  are  two  things  this  speaker  fixes  upon,  and  they 
are  a  powerful  stay  if  we  can  bring  them  as  clearly  and 
confidently  to  God  as  he  did.  "  My  judgment  is  with  the 
Lord."  I  can  appeal  to  his  decision  for  the  character  of 
my  motive.  It  was,  so  far  as  I  knew  it,  pure  and  true. — 
"  My  work  is  with  my  God."  I  can  cast  on  his  decision  the 
result  of  my  labour.  I  have  put  it  into  his  keeping,  and 
I  leave  it  there.  I  place  myself  with  the  aim  of  my  life, 
both  as  to  how  I  have  pursued  it,  and  what  shall  come  of  it, 
in  the  hand  of  the  Searcher  of  hearts,  and  the  Disposer  of 
all  things.     "  Judge  me,  0  God,  and  plead  my  cause." 

Now,  I  do  not  say  that  any  mere  man  can  do  this  with 
a  perfect  assurance  that  all  is  right  with  him,  and  that  He 
who  searches  the  hearts,  and  tries  the  reins,  can  absolve 
him  as  faultless  ;  but  I  do  say  that  there  are  men  who,  by 
the  grace  of  God,  can  appeal  to  God  himself  for  the  sin- 


THE  COMPLAINT  FOR  FRUSTRATED  AIMS.      3G1 

cerity  of  their  aim,  and  that  this  is  the  steadfast  pole-star 
of  our  life's  voyage,  which  we  should  constantly  contem- 
plate— God's  face  upon  our  heart,  and  God's  hand  upon 
our  effort — "  My  judgment  is  with  the  Lord,  and  my  work 
with  my  God." 

Let  us  see  how  it  should  influence  both  the  classes  we 
have  been  considering.  Those  men  who  have  been  seek- 
ing some  personal  object  in  life,  and  have  failed  in  it,  may 
learn  much  here.  You  have  been  striving  for  a  position 
which  is  still  far  out  of  your  reach — for  some  acknowledg- 
ment of  your  merits  which  is  denied  you — for  comfort  in 
the  home  life  and  the  affections,  which  is  never  likely  to 
visit  you  in  this  world.  Let  us  take  it  for  granted  that 
there  was  nothing  sinful  in  your  aim,  and  that  you  did  not 
wish  for  any  good,  inconsistent  with  the  rights  and  the 
happiness  of  your  fellow-creatures.  It  seems  very  hard  to 
you  that  you  should  be  denied  what  many  of  them  enjoy, 
and  you  can  scarcely  help  comparing  your  lot  with  theirs, 
with  a  sense  of  bitterness,  at  least  of  regret.  Their  bright- 
ness deepens  your  shadow.  Your  life  seems  a  maimed  and 
broken  life,  your  home  a  cold  and  comfortless  one,  set  over 
against  theirs ;  and  this  world  is  to  you,  in  a  measure,  a 
lost  world.  Now  here  is  a  more  excellent  way  of  it.  In- 
stead of  putting  your  life  beside  theirs,  refer  yourself  to 
God's  judgment.  Say,  I  have  done  all  my  honest  endea- 
vour to  secure  a  place  in  the  world,  and  I  am  here  in  this 
lower  room  notwithstanding.  It  is  God's  will  then — my 
work  is  with  God. 

If  you  can  put  the  case  truly  before  the  Judge  and 
Controller  of  life,  you  may  find  something  in  your  life 
to  correct,  and  something  also  that  will  give  comfort. 
May  it  not  be  that  you  have  been  making  the  aim  of  your 
life  too  narrow,  even  as  it  concerns  your  own  welfare? 
You  have  been  thinking  perhaps,  of  worldly  position  and 


3G2     THE  COMPLAINT  FOR  FRUSTRATED  AIMS. 

acknowledgment,  more  than  of  the  building  up  of  your 
character  in  what  is  true  and  pure  and  godlike — more  ci 
your  outward  than  of  your  inward  and  real  life.  These 
failures  may  be  to  teach  you  to  begin  again,  and  to  aim  at 
a  wider  basement  and  a  higher  top-stone — to  take  into 
your  edifice  the  soul's  interests,  and  to  lc  t  its  front  look 
Godward  and  heavenward.  And  you  have  been  making, 
perhaps,  the  aim  of  your  life  too  narrow  as  it  concerns  your 
fellow-men.  You  have  made  self  too  exclusive,  and  have 
been  looking  on  your  own  things,  but  not  also  on  the 
things  of  others.  On  a  conscientious  review,  you  may  feel 
that  you  are  to  take  their  interests  with  you,  if  you  are  to 
have  God's  approval.  "  Except  ye  bring  your  brethren 
with  you,  ye  shall  not  see  my  face."  And  if  you  come, 
after  all  the  failures  of  life,  in  this  submissive  spirit  to  God 
for  his  judgment,  He  will  give  you  not  only  means  of  cor- 
rection but  comfort.  Though  you  may  have  lost  what  you 
once  reckoned  the  good  of  life,  there  is  another  and  higher 
good  still  open  to  you,  not  merely  hereafter  but  here. 
God  can  teach  you  how  to  build  on  the  ruins  of  former 
hopes — nay,  He  can  show  you  how  you  may  take  the  very 
stones  of  them  that  have  fallen  and  lie  scattered  around, 
and  may  joint  them  into  a  new  and  more  beautiful  and 
enduring  structure.  "  The  city  shall  be  builded  upon  its 
own  heap  and  the  palace  remain  after  the  manner  thereof," 
and  the  faults  and  failures  of  the  past  shall  give  a  strength 
and  chastened  beauty  to  your  new  and  nobler  life.  You 
may  never  in  this  world  have  the  keen  thrill  of  joy  your 
heart  once  panted  for,  but  a  conscious  and  deep  peace  will 
recompense  its  absence, — more  satisfying  and  more  abiding. 
Let  no  one  who  grieves  over  frustrated  aims  of  personal 
happiness  despair,  if  he  is  only  willing  to  take  his  marred 
life  and  miserable  handful  of  results  and  put  them  at  God's 
disposal.     When  He  instructs,  it  is  said  of  Him  that "  He 


THE  COMPLAINT  FOR  FRUSTRATED  AIMS.      363 

giveth  to  all  men  liberally  and  upbraideth  not "  (James  i.  5) 
— never  reproaches  us  with  our  narrow  and  foolish  past; 
nay,  sustains  us  against  our  own  self-reproaches,  and  at 
last  takes  them  away,  when  we  see  how  our  very  failures 
are  overruled  to  bring  us  to  a  higher  place  and  fill  us  with 
a  truer  wisdom. 

But  there  is  a  resource  here,  also,  for  that  nobler  style  of 
men,  who  have  laboured  for  the  cause  of  God  and  their 
fellow-creatures,  and  have  failed  to  find  the  success  they 
sought.  It  may  seem  strange  at  first  sight  that  there 
should  be  such  failures — that  a  man  should  set  himself  to 
the  best  of  all  works  with  true  and  warm  enthusiasm,  and 
meet  with  defeat  and  disappointment.  Yet  there  are  some 
things  which  make  it  not  so  strange,  if  we  will  but  reflect. 
Are  we  sure  that  our  motives  are  always  as  high  as  we 
ourselves  fancy,  and  may  not  failure  be  meant  to  send  us 
back  to  sift  and  purify  them  1  Our  very  despondency  may 
arise  from  our  having  looked  too  much  to  success  and  too 
little  to  duty.  We  are  poor  soldiers  if  we  make  our  fealty 
to  our  banner  depend  so  much  upon  its  glittering  in  the 
sunshine  of  victory.  God  must  have  standard-bearers  who 
are  ready  to  make  a  shroud  of  their  colours,  and  how  can 
they  be  known  but  in  hours  of  defeat?  In  these  dis- 
appointments He  proves  whether  we  are  fit  to  keep  our 
ranks  in  the  noble  army  where  martyrs  lead  on,  and  to  fill 
up  that  which  is  behind  of  the  afflictions  of  Christ,  the 
Captain  of  our  salvation.  And  though  our  motives  are 
pure,  is  our  work  always  wise  1  Do  we  choose  our  objects 
and  our  wrays  of  gaining  them  with  thoughtful  discrimina- 
tion; and  are  Christians  to  expect  that  carelessness  and 
rashness  will  succeed,  simply  because  of  good  intentions  ? 
He  who  sent  out  his  followers  on  the  greatest  of  all  errands 
commanded  them  to  be  "  harmless  as  doves,"  but  also  "  wise 
as  serpents."    And  even  though  all  our  benevolences  were 


364     THE  COMPLAINT  FOR  FRUSTRATED  ATMS. 

perfectly  wise  and  pure,  is  it  reasonable  to  expect  certain 
or,  as  we  should  rather  choose  to  term  it,  direct  success  ? 
Success  would  then  be  the  immediate  test  of  tightness,  and 
whoever  failed  would  be  at  once  thereby  condemned.  This 
would  be  to  erect  in  this  world  the  judgment-seat  of  God, 
and  to  destroy  its  purpose  as  a  field  of  training  for  faith 
and  trustful  obedience.  It  would  be  to  forget,  moreover, 
that  the  higher  the  end  to  be  gained,  the  more  difficult  and 
intricate  the  path  to  it.  Man's  conquest  over  the  simplest 
material  laws  lies  to  his  hand  ;  his  victory  over  her  hidden 
uses,  her  subtle  magnetic  powers,  demands  laborious  days 
and  sleepless  nights,  and  many  a  turning  back  from  false 
pathways.  To  do  good  to  men's  bodies  is  a  comparatively 
easy  thing — to  train  their  intellect  more  difficult;  it  is 
harder  still  to  reform,  even  outwardly,  their  moral  nature 
— and  most  arduous  of  all  to  reach  and  renew  the  springs  of 
their  spiritual  life.  "  This  kind  goeth  not  out  but  by  prayer 
and  fasting."  "We  need  not  be  surprised  if  we  have  to 
work  and  wait  and  think  and  study,  for  the  grandest  of  all 
results.  It  is  a  proof  of  wisdom  to  attempt  to  win  souls, 
and  it  needs  wisdom  to  succeed  in  the  attempt.  But  the 
prize  is  worth  the  trial,  and  will  repay  all  expenditure. 
"  He  that  winneth  souls  is  wise." 

After  all,  however,  the  great  resource  we  have  is  to  fall 
back  on  this  appeal,  "  My  judgment  is  with  the  Lord,  and 
my  work  with  my  God."  If  we  can  sincerely  put  our 
fruitless  endeavour  before  the  all-seeing  eye,  we  shall  have 
our  final  recognition  all  the  same.  Man  judges  by  success, 
God  by  simplicity  of  heart ;  and  many  an  unnoticed  effort 
and  inarticulate  prayer  that  never  seemed  to  touch  the 
conflict  shall  share  in  the  full  triumph  of  the  victory. 
"  As  his  part  is  that  goeth  down  to  the  battle,  so  shall  his 
part  be  that  tarrieth  by  the  stuff:  they  shall  part  alike." 
-  Kings  of  armies  did  flee  apace  :  and  she  that  tarried  at 


THE  COMPLAINT  FOE  FRUSTRATED  AIMS.  365 

home  divided  the  spoil."  There  is  no  greater  praise  in 
all  the  Word  of  God,  nor  will  be  in  the  final  award,  than 
u  She  hath  done  what  she  could."  But  more  than  this, 
the  result  in  God's  world  shall  not  be  wanting.  "  Our 
work  is  with  God."  If  we  have  done  our  part,  let  us  be 
very  sure  that  in  some  way  He  will  do  his,  not  as  we 
expect  perhaps,  nor  within  our  present  vision,  but  in  due 
time,  and  when  we  can  watch  it  following  us  while  we  rest 
from  our  labours. 

"No  work  begun  shall  ever  pause  for  death." 
If  we  cannot  go  now  with  our  talents  and  say,  "  Behold, 
I  have  gained  beside  them  five  talents  more,"  yet  if  we 
have  not  hidden  our  trust  in  the  earth,  if  we  have  in  any 
way  put  it  out  to  the  exchangers — put  it,  in  the  way  oi 
doing  good,  out  of  our  sight  and  away  from  our  hand — 
at  his  coming  He  will  receive  his  own  with  usury.  /'Much 
seed  is  germinating  underground  in  silent  hearts,  green 
blades  lie  hidden  beneath  the  cold  indifference  of  spring 
snows;  but  when  the  Spirit's  gentle  breezes  call,  and  God's 
sunshine  of  love  invites,  the  seeming  lost  will  be  found, 
and  dead  things  live,  and  far-off  prodigals  come  back  to 
hearts  that  despaired  of  their  return.  \  Ministers  and 
teachers  looking  sorrowfully  round  to  see  so  little  promise, 
the  mother  weeping  for  a  thoughtless  son,  the  anxious 
wife  praying  in  secret  for  a  careless  husband,  the  man 
who  struggles  as  in  deep  waters  to  hold  up  his  drowning 
fellow's  head — will  find  in  the  day  when  the  Lord  of  Hosts 
takes  away  the  veil  spread  over  all  nations,  and  the  Father 
of  us  all  welcomes  back  his  wandering  children  and  wipes 
away  the  tears  from  off  all  faces,  that  not  a  work  of  faith, 
or  labour  of  love,  or  prayer,  or  sigh  of  intercession,  but 
did  its  part  in  helping  some  sinner  in  his  way  to  the 
eternal  home.  Wherefore,  "  In  the  morning  sow  thy  seed, 
and  in  the  evening   withhold  not  thine  hand  ;  for  thou 


366  THE  COMPLAINT   FOR   FRUSTRATED   AIMS. 

knowest  not  whether  shall  prosper,  either  this  or  that,  or 
whether  they  both  shall  be  alike  good." 

It  would  be  unnatural  to  close  this  discourse  on  seem- 
ingly frustrated  aims  in  life  without  recurring,  however 
briefly,  to  Him  with  whom  we  commenced.  These  words 
of  sorrow  for  failure,  and  of  continued  faith  in  God,  went 
forward  through  many  human  hearts,  until  they  were  taken 
up  and  perfectly  fulfilled  in  Him  who  bare  our  sorrows, 
and  who  is  the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith.  God 
was  pleased  that  He  who  came  as  the  Son  of  Man,  our 
brother,  should  have  this  also  as  one  of  his  trials — to 
labour  in  vain.  He  came  to  his  own,  and  his  own  received 
Him  not;  He  stretched  out  his  hands  all  the  day  to  a 
gainsaying  and  rebellious  people;  He  encountered  dead 
indifference,  fierce  opposition,  reproach,  and  calumny ;  He 
was  betrayed  and  deserted ;  was  lifted  up  on  a  cross  in  the 
midst  of  that  Jerusalem  over  which  He  had  wept  in  vain, 
died  a  malefactor's  death,  and  was  buried  in  a  stranger's 
grave.  Those  of  you  who  have  failed  to  find  position  or 
comfort,  fame  or  sympathy  in  the  world  may  have  One 
who  can  bear  his  share  with  you  here,  who  chose  this 
place  in  life,  which  you  call  loss,  that  He  might  be  nearer 
you,  and  show  you  that  life  has  greater  things  than  all 
you  have  coveted.  Those  of  you  who  complain  that  you 
have  laboured  for  your  fellow-men  and  God  with  small 
return,  have  One  here  who  gave  up  infinitely  higher  things, 
and  met  from  men  a  more  cruel  award.  Is  it  not  token 
of  God's  compassion  that,  into  a  world  of  loss  and  dis- 
appointment, of  bruised  hearts  and  shattered  hopes,  He 
sent  his  own  Son  to  be  the  sharer  of  them  1 — their 
sharer,  that  He  might  show  men  how  to  bear  them. 
He  had  his  hours  of  depression  as  we  have — true, 
real,  deep — explain  it  as  we  will ;  but  He  put  his 
motive  before  the  eye  of  God,  and  left  the  result  unto 


THE  COMPLAINT  FOR  FRUSTRATED  AIMS.     367 

Him.  "  He  did  not  fail,  n either  was  He  discouraged." 
Through  the  clouds  of  depression  He  had  star-like  glimpses 
of  the  travail  of  his  soul — the  fruits  of  his  toil  that  made 
Him  say,  "  I  thank  Thee,  0  Father  " — and  that  helped 
Him  to  press  on  till  He  uttered  from  his  cross,  "  It  is 
finished  " — that  grand  prophetic  word  which  assures  us 
that  every  life  which  has  sought  to  do  the  will  of  God  is 
a  complete  and  perfect  life,  whenever  and  however  it  may 
close.  That  word,  "  It  is  finished,"  repeats  this  saying 
which  came  up  from  his  Spirit  long  before — "  My  judgment 
is  with  the  Lord,  and  my  work  with  my  God."  And  all 
the  highest  good  that  has  visited  our  earth  for  eighteen 
hundred  years  has  come  from  that  life  and  death  of  seem- 
ingly frustrated  aims;  all  the  harvests  that  angels  will 
reap  for  heaven  have  sprung  from  the  furrows  by  which  He 
went  forth  weeping,  bearing  precious  seed.  The  highest 
success  in  the  universe  of  God  has  come  from  the  deepest 
outward  failure,  to  assure  us  that  if  we  calmly  move 
forward,  setting  our  trust  in  the  Lord  and  doing  good, 
failure  there]  can  be  none.  One  may  sow  and  another 
reap  ;  but  he  that  soweth  and  he  that  reapeth  shall  rejoice 
together,  and  gather  fruit  unto  life  eternal.  \ 

Only,  let  all  be  done  under  the  cover  and  trusting  in  the 
strength  of  Him  who  alone  "  works  all  our  works  in  us." 
Let  the  sinful  past  come  under  this  shadow  to  find  forgive- 
ness ;  the  narrow  and  selfish  life,  to  find  a  new  and  lofty 
aim ;  and  all  our  fears  and  griefs  and  disappointments,  to 
find  comfort  and  hope  in  Him  who  entered  the  world  to 
redeem  it  from  fall  and  loss,  and  to  make  every  true  life 
succeed  at  last,  even  where  it  seemed  to  fail.  "  Therefore, 
my  beloved  brethren,  be  ye  steadfast,  unmoveable,  always 
abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  forasmuch  as  ye  know 
that  your  labour  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord." 


PRINTED  BY  T.   AND  A.  CONSTABLE,  PRIHTERS  TO  HER  MAJESTY, 
AT  THE  EDINBURGH  UNIVERSITY  PRESS. 


Date  Due 

P  28  3V 

| 

1 

$ 

